


Love, Loss & Internal Affairs

by mtac_archivist



Category: NCIS
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe, Drabble, Drama, Episode Related, Episode: s01e01 Yankee White, Episode: s01e04 The Immortals, Episode: s01e05 The Curse, Episode: s01e07 Sub Rosa, Episode: s01e08 Minimum Security, Episode: s01e09 Marine Down, Episode: s01e10 Left For Dead, Episode: s01e11 Eye Spy, Episode: s01e12 My Other Left Foot, Episode: s01e13 One Shot One Kill, Episode: s01e16 Bête Noire, Episode: s01e17 The Truth Is Out There, Episode: s01e18 UnSEALeD, Episode: s01e19 Dead Man Talking, Episode: s01e20 Missing, Episode: s01e22 A Weak Link, Episode: s01e23 Reveille, Episode: s02e05 The Bone Yard, Episode: s02e06 Terminal Leave, Episode: s02e08 Heart Break, Episode: s02e13 The Meat Puzzle, Episode: s02e17 An Eye For An Eye, Episode: s02e18 Bikini Wax, Episode: s02e19 Conspiracy Theory, Episode: s02e22 SWAK, Episode: s02e23 Twilight, Episode: s03e01 Kill Ari Part I, Episode: s03e02 Kill Ari Part 2, Episode: s03e08 Under Covers, Episode: s03e18 Bait, Episode: s03e21 Bloodbath, Episode: s03e22 Jeopardy, Episode: s03e23 Hiatus Part I, Episode: s03e24 Hiatus Part II, Episode: s04e01 Shalom, Episode: s04e07 Sandblast, Episode: s04e19 Grace Period, Established Relationship, F/M, First Time, Friendship, Future, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Not a Crossover, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Romance, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-27
Updated: 2009-04-27
Packaged: 2019-03-02 05:51:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 106,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13311849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mtac_archivist/pseuds/mtac_archivist
Summary: Caitlin Todd and Jethro Gibbs meet aboard Air Force One and it's the start of a romance. When life interferes, can Kate salvage what's left.





	1. Unexplainable Attraction

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Jessi, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ MTAC](https://fanlore.org/wiki/MTAC), an archive of NCIS fanfiction which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after August 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator (and this work is still attached to the archivist account), please contact me using the e-mail address on [ the MTAC collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/mtac/profile)

  
Author's notes: There may be some partner betrayal in future chapters, but I won't spoil it entirely for y'all  


* * *

Unexplainable Attraction  
Why do you look so familiar  
I could swear that I have seen your face before  
I think I like that you seem sincere  
I think I’d to get to know you a little bit more

KATE’S POV  
I, Caitlin Todd, am miserable, and possibly, ever so slightly delusional.  
When I say miserable, it’s not your typical Monday morning blues miserable. I’m talking about the mind numbing, fist clenching, toe curling, teeth grinding kind of miserable. But that could just be a new way of describing my anger towards a pig headed, disarmingly gorgeous son of a bitch.  
Either way, I’m not very happy.  
Not only do I no longer have a job with the Secret Service - a job where I was the youngest agent to ever have protected the President, a job where I could quite happily see myself for the foreseeable future - I have also been accused of double homicide, bustled into a bathroom and had to deal with the fall back of previously mentioned son of a bitch’s operations.  
First he tries to take over the investigation, by pretending to be the medical examiners assistant, then when I discover who he really is, he dismisses, or tries to dismiss me for the quite possible fact that because I have breasts, I am inadequately qualified to work in the vicinity of him.  
He’s actually very lucky that I didn’t follow through on my threat to shoot him, which I did twice. Although he did allow me to attack him in the cramped bathroom, and call him a bastard and an asshole; so there is an upside to being told my ex-boyfriend was dead and be accused of his murder.  
So that’s the cause of my undesirably miserable state of mind this evening.  
NCIS Special Agent Gibbs basically cost me my job - of which I was planning on resigning anyway, but that’s beside the point - and then offers me a job with him and his…I don’t even know how to describe the people I met in the past forty-eight hours. Does he think that because I agreed to a joint investigation and that I willingly listened to what he was telling me and teaching me and that I may consider taking him up on his offer, that I’ll instantly bow down to him in all his pretentious, conceited ‘glory’? There is not a chance in hell that will happen. I won’t accept the rules he gave me and I certainly won’t accept his dismissal or his disproving.  
I wasn’t even on his team and yet he spent all evening Saturday ordering me round and giving me rules. Rules, which by definition are quite pathetic. As is his agent DiNozzo. How can measuring swimsuit models even compare to measuring a crime scene for a reconstruction? That guy really has the locker room mentality of a school boy.  
I’m straying from the point completely. I was the Secret Service agent aboard the plane, who’s job it was to protect the President therefore making me team leader. But Gibbs had to be so heartbreakingly persistent, and there was his threat of throwing me off the plane and hi-jacking it, that I eventually dropped my guard and offered a joint investigation, which he accepted.  
I could see it in his eyes, the second he stepped on that damn plane he wasn’t going to be easy or play nice. But little did he realise that little Caitlin Todd knew how to play with the big boys, and that she didn’t take kindly to being overlooked. If either him, or that Fornell guy had even tried one more time to make out that I didn’t know how to shoot my sig, I’d have let them have it. Quite possibly a double tap in the chest. But my God, that smile…  
Okay, I’ll admit, there is something charming about him. It may have been that he was worried about me when I was ill, or that he called me Katie. He is quite attractive as well.  
No, I can’t think like that. This is the whole reason I quit my job in the first place. I know it was wrong, and completely against the rules, but when Tim asked me out, how could I refuse. He too was charming, and knew how to make me laugh and a whole lot more things too! That was just a physical thing, me and Tim. And yet, I was willing to give up my career for him. I did that anyway but not for him, he was already dead by this point.  
Does that sound harsh? Speaking ill of the dead like that? Karma is going to come back and bite me on the ass, I know it.  
Right here and now, I promise myself never to fall for a co-worker ever again, no matter how charming or good-looking, or even how good they are in bed. Not that I would ever find out how good they are in bed if I never let myself take the chance of dating them in the first place. There! Besides, inter-team relationships are too damn complicated.  
If I were to take the job he offered, and I’m not saying I am, but if I were, it would be hard to overcome these feelings. I know this. God, I am pathetic. Attracted to a man who I barely know.  
It could be fun though; seeing how far I can push him until he breaks, falls at my feet and bowing down to me…  
No! Kate, you have to stop thinking like this. The whole reason you are in this mess in the first place is because of Tim! And there I go, speaking ill of the dead yet again. Besides, nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever happen between you and that insufferable bastard!  
Right, weigh up the pros and cons here…  
Pros…  
A seemingly fun work environment…  
An attractive boss…  
A semi attractive team mate…  
The chance to actually get out there and prevent things and helping people other than being able to say ‘ I rode Air Force One twelve times.’…  
A crazy tattooed lab tech and an extremely talkative and very gentle M.E…  
Cons…  
Are there any?  
Just one that I can think of and that would be my attraction to my possible future boss.  
Kate, you’re losing it here!  
But one look and those eyes… Eyes that locked onto mine and made me forget my name. They are so blue, and full of emotion that he keeps from his face.  
There was a moment between us, after I had been checked over by Ducky.  
I had a little incident where, and this is so stupid, I was watching them bagging the evidence and I had the sudden urge to just throw up. I ran out the room heading for the bathroom but he stopped me and MADE me throw up in the evidence bag.  
It was so embarrassing.  
He led me to the couch, Ducky checked me over and then Gibbs asked how I was so sure it was the flu. I explained that Tim had the same symptoms as I had and neither men were sure how I contracted the virus if I hadn’t worked with him recently. It was then I rhetorically asked if Ducky thought I was a virgin.  
Anyway, I was just lying there on the couch, feeling slightly sorry for myself and Gibbs was perched on the arm just watching me. He made sure to keep his eyes on mine and didn’t allow them to stray. Not even when I upped the ante and stretched my arm up, laying it behind my head.  
Yes, I admit, I was seeing if he had the same mentality as DiNozzo, when greeted with a vulnerable woman who was practically offering herself on a plate, which he hasn’t, I don’t think. I think my movement was half nonchalance half defiant pose and whole lot of showing off my very feminine figure. I mean, it’s not like I ripped my shirt off, jumped in front of him and said ’I have breasts, what you gonna do about it?’ is it? Not that I didn’t consider doing that in the bathroom, however.  
So there I was laying there, my position fully displaying my…uh…assets and he didn’t drift. Although, I’m pretty sure the cogs were working overtime in his head.  
I was serious when I asked if he was going to lecture me on sleeping with people you work with, and he said he wasn’t. There seemed to be a mutual understanding between us, that yes, shit happens and you have to learn to deal with the consequences yourself. It also gave me a brief inlet that caused me to think I’m not alone in this.  
How in the hell am I supposed to work under him when I keep thinking things like this?  
…  
Damn it! That was the wrong thing to say…and think.  
But it could be so much more interesting working under him that way and so much more fun!  
…  
Time to change topic.  
He called me Katie. That made me smile. No one has called me Katie since I was twelve, and even then it was just my dad. He was the only one allowed. My mother was forever calling me Caitlin, and Caitlin Jane when I was in trouble. She thought that my nickname was inappropriate as it was not my given name.  
Caitlin is just too formal for me. I’m not a Caitlin, or even a Katie, I’m a Kate. It’s short, to the point and doesn’t leave room for questions - very much like me, come to think of it.  
But when Gibbs called me Katie…he didn’t make it sound like I was a little girl, in a pink gingham pinafore and pigtails…he made it sound…sexy.  
I actually felt shivers run down my spine. And it takes a lot to make me cry or completely lose track of all thoughts bar one…  
…  
And we are back with that specific train of thought yet again. My mother would be very disappointed if she knew what I was thinking right now.  
I’m screwed!  
…  
I think perhaps an extremely cold shower is in order!

GIBBS POV  
Wow...  
I think it's safe to say that I, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, have fallen head over heels. That's all I have to say in the matter of Kate Todd. She's feisty, tenacious, not afraid to stand up to me.  
Wow...  
And in the bathroom? Her small body, pressed against mine in the small space...she fitted perfectly against me. I think some higher power is at work here...  
Something in my gut is telling me that I was destined to meet this woman, offer her a job and fall in love with her; though the last two are not specifically in that order.  
I said please to her. I never say please. Or thank you. Or sorry. She is definitely something if she can get me to say please after a few hours of knowing her.  
I still can't get over holding her close to me like that. It's been years since I've held a woman that close, other than Abby. But Abby is like my daughter, the feelings I have for Caitlin Todd are...unexplainable.  
There are a few images of the past few days I can’t delete; don’t want to delete from my memory. When I first spied her standing next to Fornell. She had a look of sheer determination; that she was going to remain in control of the situation at hand.  
And when she wrapped her small hand around mine in a firm handshake that told me she wasn’t going to back down under any circumstances at getting whatever she wanted.  
That moment after she had been checked by Ducky; laying in front of me on the small couch looking so vulnerable. There was a spark in her eyes though. She held my gaze for the longest time, longer than anyone had ever considered doing with me before, before nodding her head some what in an understanding manner of why I didn‘t state the millions of reasons it‘s a bad idea to get involved with a co-worker.  
Perhaps there was a reason I didn’t lecture her on sleeping with the people you work with?  
And finally; that cramped bathroom.  
Okay, so I accused her of double homicide, and then she had called me an asshole and a bastard. Those two names I can live with because it’s true; at times I can be an asshole and on more than one occasion I’ve been told I’m a bastard.  
Even in the first few hours of meeting her, I could tell she was perceptive, determined, very warm hearted and very kind. But I also knew she’d be vicious to deal with if ever messed with. I think the threats of being shot by her made that more than clear; and I‘d much rather stay on the nice side of Katie Todd, although the anger she portrays is quite fascinating.  
The fireworks that erupted in her eyes when she was yelling at me and calling me bastard was spectacular.  
But those first few hours working with her, she was so eager to learn about something she had no interest in. She only wanted to find out who had killed Commander Trapp and get the paperwork done. We all did.  
Once she lost the whole hostile, passive aggressive thing she had working, and working well, it became obvious her beauty wasn’t just on the surface; my god she is beautiful.  
One day I’ll test Katie Todd’s limits; see how far she can go. If she can go the distance being on my team. If she can handle working with a misanthropic, cynical jerk like me. Not to mention the sexual innuendos from DiNozzo day in, day out. Working side by side. Although…in doing that I’ll be pushing myself to the brink just by having her by my side; working with me day in day out. Either sitting opposite my desk or on my right.  
One day, hopefully soon, I’ll be able to look at her without thinking thoughts an old man like me shouldn’t be thinking about his much younger future subordinate. Much younger.  
Hopefully I’ll be able to stand next to her an not imagine pressing her body close to mine, even if it was just to hold her; feel her warm body against mine again…  
One day, I’m going to tell her just what she done to me this weekend. And hopefully, she’ll understand my feelings. Hopefully she’ll feel the same.  
Hopefully, we’ll grow old together.  
Damn it, Jethro…you’ve been conquered.


	2. Over The Line

Over The Line  
I hope to God, you feel the way I feel  
Cause this could be amazing; something so super real  
There’s something about you and you don’t even know it  
I’m telling you now that you got me good  
There’s something about you and I can’t ever show it  
Damn it you now that you got me good  
Now I’m not alone; with you I’m whole  
I’ve got to let you know you got me good

It was going to be a very long day, Kate could feel it in her gut. She had woken that morning with a pounding headache, a deep, scratchy cough that lay at the back of her throat causing her larynx to shrink to the size of a peanut, and the even deeper realisation that she was ill.  
Arriving at work, she realised the day was going to be made even longer if DiNozzo’s attitude towards the phonecall he had received was anything to go by. For once in Kate’s career at NCIS, it wasn’t one of his many girlfriends, it was in fact a young agent stationed at Norfolk, calling in a case. Tony had simply told him to do nothing, secure the area and wait for them to arrive. Tony’s day had only been made better by this young agent who sounded green and inexperienced and was only getting better when he spied his partner, only to tell her she looked like hell.  
“A woman loves to hear that, Tony.”  
“If you’re coming down with something, don’t sit next to me in the truck.”  
“Oh, there’s an upside to having a cold.”  
“You want to tell the doctor about it?”  
The playful, suggestive raising of Tony’s eyebrows and the lascivious and equally suggestive tone of his voice made Kate either want to smack him silly or throw her own comment back at him, but wasn’t given the chance when Gibbs blew in, coffee cup in hand and questioned if his team were ready to go. Maybe, to possibly, actually do some work.   
Kate looked around her desk, checking she had everything she’d need for their day trip out and the one hundred and ninety three mile drive as she walked towards Gibbs desk, informing him that Ducky and his assistant, Gerald, were already on their way to the crime scene.  
The unthinkable happened, and no one knows how. One second, the styrofoam cup had been sitting on the desk, the next it was laying on the floor, it’s strong, dark contents spilling out over the grey carpeting. Gibbs towered over his desk, over Kate as she knelt down and tried, in a feeble attempt, to clean the mess up. His face was grim as he watched his morning brew fade into the carpet, and Kate grimacing remorsefully.  
“Oh, God! Oh, god, I’m sorry. Uh…what do you put in your coffee?”  
“Coffee.”  
Yep. He was pissed. Her first thoughts that morning were that it was going to be a long day, made even longer by Tony. Now, as she knelt on the floor, smiling up at him apologetically, ready to buy him a fresh cup, she knew she’d made a huge mistake by thinking it would be a long day. Hell, this was going to be a long month.  
“Okay. I’ll just go down the hall and get you another cup.”  
“That’s…not coffee. I’ll meet you in the truck.”  
As Gibbs walked out, Kate looked towards Tony for an explanation as to their boss’s behaviour. There were simply no words that could explain it; Gibbs without coffee was like…Gibbs without coffee. Tony’s words, however, described it perfectly; they were in unchartered waters.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The journey to Norfolk was silent, Gibbs remaining relatively quiet without his coffee while Kate and Tony, mainly Tony, tried not to further his bad mood. By the time they got to the naval base, they were greeted by Ducky and Gerald who were already processing the body. After discovering that their victim had fallen from a fifty gallon drum containing hydrofluoric acid, Ducky explained to the team the many uses for the corrosive solvent on a Naval Station; mainly cleaning metal. He also took the time to mention that they were lucky that he hadn’t been in the barrel longer, or else they would have no remains at all to work with.  
Off side, the young agent who called in the case, Timothy McGee, looked as if he was ready to show the world what he had for breakfast, and his discomfort caused Gibbs to have Tony escort him away from the scene. Ducky continued his preliminary analysis of the victim and discovered a piece of skin still attached to the left forearm, coincidently with some skin discoloration. Kate voiced the possibility of a birthmark and Ducky told her he’d get a conclusive answer when he got him home.   
Still trying to get in Gibbs’ good books after what had happened that morning, Kate also voiced the fact that the Armed Forces DNA Registry would be able to help them get a match this time; unlike the last time where there was no way JAG would sign off on what they called ‘a pile of dead skin’. However, this time they were backlogged and wouldn’t be able to process anything for at least the next forty eight hours.  
Gibbs left his team to continue processing while he went to speak to the security guard at the main gate to try and get some more details. The protestors at the gate were of a huge cause of distress to both the guard and Gibbs and both knew if given the chance, there wouldn’t be any there if they were in charge.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It was late into the night before they were finally ready to head back to headquarters and make a start on the case. Tony, being Tony, took the opportunity of seniority and Gibbs’ absence to intimidate Agent McGee. According to Kate, he was hazing him.  
“We have to keep the crime scene under guard until it’s released by Gibbs.”  
“I’ll let security know.”  
“Gibbs wants NCIS to remain in control.”  
“So…I should stay here?”  
“We’ll get you relieved as soon as we can.”  
“Okay.”  
Kate watched the scene, disgusted by the way he was treating their younger fellow agent. Even when she had started, she hadn’t been subjected to that frat boy mentality, just the occasional sexist joke or remark and the sharing of flirtatious banter with Gibbs. As they walked away from him and back to their requisitioned vehicles, Tony caught the glare, which he was familiar with, that Kate was sending him.  
“Why are you making him stay here?”  
“Because I can.”  
“That is a complete abuse of authority.”  
“Lighten up. He’s new. He expects to be abused; it goes with the territory.”  
“This isn’t pledge week at Sigma Chi, Tony.”  
“I’ll bet you were a lot of fun in college.”  
“I was a lot of fun in college.”  
“Really?”  
Tony couldn’t quite believe that this straight laced woman was confirming his thoughts that perhaps she had a funky side when she was younger; obviously having lost it now. Perhaps one day, he thought, he’d find out what she was like at college.  
They made an early start the next morning; heading straight to Agent McGee’s office to conference with Ducky and Abby via webcam. The good doctor was able to tell them that cause of death was a blunt force injury causing a fracture to the rear of the skull. It was miraculous, after being in acid that the facial bone structure was intact; meaning that Abby would be able to do a facial reconstruction with the photographs that had been taken.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
With a little help from Abby, the forearm discoloration once thought to be a birthmark had been digitally enhanced. From Kate’s point of view, it looked like a Rorschach test and with a little more tweaking, the image cleared showing that it was part of a tattoo that was blurred by the acid. Gibbs concluded that their victim was a submariner due to the simple reason the remains of the tattoo were that of a dolphin tail.  
While Ducky explained the origins of tattooing in the background to no one in particular, Gibbs set about getting the name of the sub their victim may have been stationed on.   
“How many subs in port?”  
“Um…I’m copied on the daily movement report.”  
McGee’s filing system was less than desirable and it took him a while to find the wanted document; it may have been more if it hadn’t been for Gibbs’ growing impatience.  
“Um…three Los Angeles class attack subs in port at the moment. Another in dry dock. There were five, but the Philadelphia left at zero six hundred.”  
“Get me the copies of the ship’s alpha rosters.”  
“I’m on it.”  
While McGee went to acquire the alpha rosters, Kate, Tony and Gibbs headed out of the closet space called an office to the dock to discuss their case more.  
“What if the body was put into acid not only to dispose of it, but…?”  
“But to make certain that it couldn’t be identified.”  
Feeling slightly put out by Kate being able to finish Gibbs’ sentences, Tony decided to throw in his own evaluation of the case.  
“Maybe the murderer didn’t want us to know the submariner was dead.”  
“Maybe.”  
McGee came running up at this point with the alpha rosters and told Gibbs that everyone on the sub crews were accounted for, including the Philadelphia.  
“A submariner’s dead, but none are missing. And the dead man’s identity was removed. Someone took his place on one of those subs.”  
“An impostor?”  
“Let’s pay a visit to the Submarine Squadron Commander.”  
After a warning from McGee about the difficulty of Captain Veitch, followed by him receiving a stare down from Gibbs, Kate and Tony found themselves watching as their boss told this hard ass what was happening and what he wanted to happen.    
The Commander wasn’t too happy at being told a member of his crew had been killed and his murderer had taken his place. He also wasn’t too thrilled about possibly having to call back the Philadelphia just under the suspicion of one person’s gut. In saying that, Gibbs decided that he and Kate would head out to the sub to continue with their investigation.  
When McGee had said difficult, neither Kate nor Tony had expected this. Gibbs had. He had been fully aware before he made the decision that the Commander wouldn’t take kindly to Kate, simply because she was female and to him, all females were an inconvenience and Gibbs caught the more than obvious glares he was sending to his female agent.   
“Well, the presence of a woman on board a submarine is a tremendous inconvenience. You know that.”  
“I do.”  
“Don’t you have another agent that you can take with you?”  
“I do. Kate, step out.”  
Kate looked from Gibbs, to the Commander and back again while Tony fixed his tie and waited expectantly. The glass ceiling was prevailing again. How dare that man be so pig headed and sexist? How could Gibbs send her from the office without offering her a chance to voice her opinion? She stormed out the room, deeply regretting she hadn’t shot him when she had the chance on air force one.  
“I’m glad you understand.”  
“I don’t.”  
“Excuse me?”  
Since the moment he’d heard the Commanders reaction to Kate being deployed to the sub, Gibbs had been building up to this. The man had no right to treat Kate like that, and Gibbs was going to make him regret doing so.  
“Don’t tell me how to run an investigation. Yeah, I’ve got other agents who can do the job, but none as well as Special Agent Todd. Formerly she was attached to the President’s Secret Service detail. Trained as a profiler.”  
“I don’t care what she was trained for. She’s a woman! And females cannot be deployed on a submarine!”  
Kate stood outside the office, waiting for her chance to explode at Gibbs. Pacing back and forth, she mentally argued with herself about how to approach him. She could just remain calm and level headed about it, speak to him professionally. Or she could act like how she felt; rejected for having breasts. The second the main door opened, she began her rant.  
“What is this, Victorian England? The men with their cigars and brandy, while the ladies sip tea in another room? I’m more qualified for this investigation than Tony.”  
If she had been focusing, she would have seen the sparkle in Gibbs’ eyes and Tony’s pout. Neither of which seemed to register in her mind as she ranted on at the man in front of her.  
“To replace me because I shave my legs and not my face is unconscionable and certainly not in the best interest of the case.”  
“Are you claustrophobic?”  
“No.”   
“Good!”  
Whether she had been claustrophobic or not didn’t seem pertinent to what had just happened. Kate couldn’t quite work out what was happening until Gibbs was walking away from them.  
“I’m going?”  
She turned and smiled proudly at Tony, who throughout her rant had been growing more like his old self. He simply could not resist in telling her not to forget to wax. Glaring at him slightly as he walked away, she continued smiling. Nothing Tony said to her could wipe the grin from her face, especially when she realised she’d be in the confines of a submarine with the man who had been haunting her dreams for two months.  
After a quick journey home to pack a few items, Kate and Gibbs were soon on their way to join the Philadelphia. Kate quickly expressed her excitement towards diving on a nuclear sub than she ever was flying onboard Air Force One. A quick stop on the Enterprise and a helo ride later, Kate found herself travelling across choppy waters; with no submarine in sight. The second she questioned its whereabouts, it surfaced.  
Once aboard, the duo were welcomed albeit a little icily, by Commander Peters and his X.O., Lieutenant Commander Akron. After being shown to their makeshift office in the wardroom, they set about working the case with Peters wanting to know more about what was going on.  
“I’ve quarantined the five men as requested. They said you’d fill me. Fill me in, Special Agent Gibbs.”  
“One of those men may not be who he says he is.”  
“I find that hard to believe.”  
“A body was found at Norfolk. It was made unidentifiable, possibly on purpose. We have a good reason to believe that he was a submariner.”  
“Fifteen of your crew are new. Four have been eliminated by dental x-rays. Six can be ruled out because of ethnic origin or body type.”  
“So that’s it? Your conclusions are based on suppositions?”  
“Strong suppositions.”  
Peters was quick off the mark to express, in great detail, his discontent with the turmoil his crew were facing. Stating he had interviewed every man when they boarded and examined their personnel files before they even left the dock and set foot on board. Naturally, Gibbs wanted that same opportunity and wasn’t about to let Peters stand in his way to get it.   
With the boat about to commence an Anti Submarine Warfare exercise with the Augusta, a bottle of Stoli riding on who won, Peters wanted his five men back at their duty stations immediately. With both sides complying with the other, Peters left the two unwanted agents to their work and headed back to the con to do his own, and to tell the COB to keep the five men from talking for security purposes by order of Gibbs.  
With the skipper gone, Kate was confused by the variety of acronyms she’d just heard and looked to Gibbs for help.  
“COB. Chief of the Boat.”  
“Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome.”

Back at HQ, Abby was making progress in creating the victims face. She thought he was turning out to be a Hugh Grant type, while Ducky was leaning towards Cary Grant. Ducky had mainly come upstairs to check on Abby’s progress with the stomach contents he’d sent up for analysis.  
“Well, there’s good news and bad news.”  
“I hate it when you play this game, Abby. All right, let’s get it over with.”  
“His last meal was a Big Mac and fries.”  
“Probably half the base had that for lunch. I was hoping you’d come up with something a little more exotic. Tandoori perhaps. And the good news?”  
“I know what’s in the special sauce.”  
No closer in finding out the victim’s identity, Ducky headed out and left Abby building the face on their mystery man.

While they had been talking about food and film stars, Kate and Gibbs had interviewed all five men and they also were no closer in finding the impostor. Looking over their notes, they began discussing what they had learned from their various candidates.  
“Petty Officer Thompson was lying about graduating high school at nineteen.”  
“He paused and looked to his left. Usually means the response is fabricated. If he would have looked to his right he’d be recalling a-.”  
“Memory.”  
Kate looked up from the folder, impressed with this sudden revelation on Gibbs behalf. Ever so slowly, she was learning more about this enigmatic man she’d grown to admire and eventually fall for over the months she’d known him.  
“You’ve had profile training.”  
“What I’ve had is about a thousand interviews. After a while you start picking up on things.”  
“Why would Thompson lie about his age?”  
“I don’t know. Why did Seaman Riggs lie about being married? Why did Petty Officer Drew lie about a year in college?”  
“Well, maybe Riggs is secretly married and Drew never finished a full year.”  
“Everybody has something to lie about…which means we have nothing.”  
Leaving Kate to go over the transcripts, Gibbs headed to the con to see the skipper. Peters was less than happy that these agents were yet to complete their interviews and weren’t about to leave his boat.  
“I’m concerned about the safety of your boat, Skipper.”  
“Your concern will be noted. XO, have the COB return the men to duty.”  
“Aye-aye, Skipper.”  
“How could someone harm this boat from the inside?”  
“We’re vulnerable to any number of things. Chlorine introduced to the re-circulated air could be fatal to the crew. Salt water in the battery compartment could cause an explosion. The missiles and torpedoes are obvious dangers. I could go on, but what’s the point?”  
“The point is one of those men may be an intruder.”  
“I don’t believe that to be the case. I trust every man on this crew. I’ll make arrangements to get you back to the carrier.”  
“We’ll leave, Skipper, when we’re done; not before.”  
Gibbs turned on his heel and walked back to the wardroom where Kate, instead of reading their reports, had been day dreaming. Something which was becoming a frequent habit whenever Gibbs was around. So that was basically all day, every day.   
There were times when she’d see them pressed up against each other in the elevator after he’d pulled the emergency brake. In the past week alone, she’d had to give herself several slaps on the wrist for thinking naughty thoughts instead of working. There was just something captivating about Gibbs; whether it was his hair, or his smirks or those eyes.   
The more she thought about it, the more she recalled the many ways he’d look at her, and only she would catch those looks reserved for only two people on his team; the other being Abby. His eyes would sparkle and tease while his face showed no emotion. Deep blue pools that gave away everything he tried to hide; Kate occasionally caught a few glimpses into those mesmerizing eyes and found herself looking into the very soul of the man who seemed to not care about his team, only his work. It was definitely the eyes; no doubt about it.  
By the time Gibbs had arrived back in the wardroom, she’d pulled herself from her dreams and had set about matching the fingerprints they’d recently acquired to that of the fingerprints in the service records she’d obtained and the Augusta had been found; so the sub was currently on its way to ‘attack’ it.  
“Gibbs, the fingerprints we took match those in their service records. If there’s an impostor, it’s not one of the five we interviewed.”  
“It has to be.  
“What if he’s on another boat?”  
“This is the one that makes sense. The killer didn’t just dump the body; he removed identifying features in case it was found. If it were found he knew it’d take between twenty-four and forty eight hours for AFDIL to make a DNA match.”  
“Whatever he was planning to do, it was going to be in that time frame.”  
“In that time frame, the Philadelphia was the only boat going out. Where’d you get the records?”  
“Personnel office at Norfolk.”  
“What if someone altered the service records before we or Commander Peters got it?”  
“Meaning the impostor worked in the personnel office.”  
“Or has an accomplice.”  
Just as the Philadelphia was closing in on the Augusta, Gibbs and Kate burst into the con demanding to make an emergency call to NCIS headquarters.  
“No can do, Agent Gibbs. I’m about to win a bottle of Stoli. WEPS, get me a firing solution.”  
“Your bottle of vodka is going to have to wait, Skipper. I need to talk to headquarters now!”  
“We’d have to break contact and go to periscope depth.”  
“Whatever it takes.”  
“I am not terminating this exercise so you can have a chat with the folks back home.”  
“Let me give this to you straight, Skipper. There’s a threat on this boat. It’s a real threat; it’s not a game.”  
“X.O.”  
“Sir.”  
“Make your depth one five zero feet. Sonar, see if you can hang on to her. Take us up to periscope depth.”  
The X.O. complied and took the sub up to periscope depth while Peters told Gibbs he was giving him two minutes.  
Two minutes was more time than Gibbs needed to call Tony at Norfolk and explain to him what was happening. Being predictable, Gibbs hung up before he got a response from Tony who then informed Ducky of what was going on before he and McGee went to the personnel office to investigate.

Back in D.C., Ducky had hung up with Tony and made his way once again up to the lab where the punky goth was sitting in her chair still trying to get an identity.  
“I have good news and bad news, Abby.”  
“Ah, I hate payback!”  
“Which first?”  
“Bad.”  
“No DNA matches on our victim. The AFDIL computers are still down.”  
“Okay. Good.”  
“I know why Hugh Grant didn’t match any of the photos.”  
Ducky paused for a defining moment to make his explanation seem somewhat more impressive than what it could possibly be.  
“Okay, you got your pay back. Tell me why.”  
“Gibbs thinks one of the service records was altered.”  
Abby sunk back in her chair feeling slightly worthless. She’d just spent the better half of the day creating a face for their mystery man only to discover that there was an alteration to the paperwork that may possibly belong to him.  
“So all of this was a waste of time?”  
“Au contraire. All we have to do is get photos of those five crew members from an independent source.”  
“That’ll take longer than a DNA match.”  
“I have photographs of every cricket team I ever played on from second form all the way through to the upper sixth. You see in our last year, we made the division finals. Grant you I was only on the reserve.”  
Although Abby was one of the few on Gibbs’ team that seemed to tolerate and enjoy listening to Ducky’s tales of boyhood and fascinating analogies of his time abroad and various cases, she wanted to press on with the case so that Gibbs and Kate could come home sooner.  
“I just know that there’s a point here somewhere.”  
“All the ships have a crew photograph.”  
“Yes.”  
It was a minute or two before she caught on to what Ducky was telling her and this got her more hyper than any Caf-Pow could ever get her.  
“Yes! Yes! I’ll download crew photos from websites of the five suspect’s previous deployments!”  
While Abby excitedly began searching for the various crew photos, Ducky was inspecting his body in the reflection of the door, possibly remembering his figure from his youth.  
“You should have seen me in my whites. I was rather handsome even if I do say so myself.” 

Tony and McGee were also making progress down at the Norfolk personnel office; having gained an address of a possible suspect.   
Joshua Fox worked at Norfolk for just over a year and had recently transferred into personnel a month ago. Being told he’d quit two days ago, Tony was somewhat impressed with McGee’s quick thinking and even went as far as nearly complimenting him on it. Taking the roster, the two headed out in the direction of Fox’s home.

Something about Petty Officer Thompson wasn’t sitting right with Gibbs’ gut and it was   
bothering him. He knew he’d have to have a strategic plan if he wanted to speak to him without the COB and Skipper knowing. As he began to formulate the plan in his mind, he considered getting Kate involved and that’s exactly what he was going to do; but first he’d need water.   
Gibbs returned to the wardroom with copious amounts of bottled water; none of this seemed to faze Kate in the slightest as she was still reading over the transcripts from Norfolk trying to deduce which of the five men it could be. As he placed the bottle in front of her, she appreciated the gesture as she took a sip and continued reading. She lost her appreciation for the gesture, however, when she finished one bottle and another was placed in front of her again and again.   
Draining her fifth bottle, she continued reading the documents when Gibbs opened another bottle and placed it once again in front of her.  
“Drink.”  
“What’s with all the water?”  
“Oh, you’ve got to hydrate on a submarine.”  
“All you’ve had me doing is hydrating.”  
“Drink it.”  
Rolling her eye, Kate took the open bottle and began drinking. Placing the bottle back on the table, Gibbs watched her intently before he questioned her.  
“So, how’s your bladder?”  
“What?!”  
Practically feeling the daggers flying from Kate’s eyes, he figured he better give her an explanation for his behaviour before she seriously hurt him.  
“The COB’s at the end of the passageway trying to keep an eye on us. You’ve got to distract him. You’re gonna need help working the toilet.”  
“Gibbs…”  
“Trust me, Kate. On a submarine, it’s a very complicated mechanism.”  
“Is that why you’ve been shoving water down my throat for the past hour?”  
“I want to check out Petty Officer Thompson.”  
“Yeah, well you don’t have to drown me. You could just ask.”  
Gibbs pulled her from the chair and pushed her towards the door. As he opened it, he spied the COB at the end of the corridor and decided to see how far he could take his behaviour.  
“Hydrating’s good for you. Go on, unhydrate.”  
Pushing Kate in to the hall, she regarded his comment for a moment before turning back to him, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks.  
“I’ve never heard it called that before.”   
“Go on!”  
Gibbs stood in the doorway and watched as Kate headed down the corridor towards the COB. Try as he might, he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the delicate sway of her hips, or how the grey pants clung perfectly to her shape.  
Once he was sure the COB was paying full attention to her, Gibbs snuck out the room and headed down to the torpedo room to speak to Thompson; where he discovered he’d spent a year in juvenile detention.  
It wasn’t long before the COB caught on to the fact that Gibbs was no longer in the wardroom and after leaving Kate back, went in search of him. Finding him in the torpedo room, the COB escorted Gibbs back to the makeshift office. Kate was filing through reports when Gibbs returned with the COB in tow.  
“Busted.”  
Kate bit her tongue to prevent her laughing as the COB stormed in, not too happy about what had just happened down below.  
“I didn’t appreciate that little stunt.”  
“Ah, cut us a little slack. No harm no foul.”  
As Gibbs smirked, his eyes sparkled signalling Kate that he was enjoying this and she couldn’t help but smirk back. Quickly however, she recovered herself as the COB glared in her direction.  
“No, Sir. The Skipper’s cooperated with you every step of the way.”  
“Chief of the Boat knows the crew better than the Skipper. Are you bothered by any of the men we questioned?”  
“You’ve only been out one day, Agent Gibbs. I make it a practice not making snap judgments.”  
“It could be something little. Seemingly inconsequential.”  
“Do you get a strange vibration about any of them?”  
“No, but if I do get any vibrations, it’ll come to you through the Skipper.”  
As the COB left, Kate felt her cheeks rise as she smiled at Gibbs before raising a questioning eyebrow in his direction.  
“Do people react that way because we’re NCIS or do you just have that affect on them?”  
“I’d like to think it’s me.”

Abby had made little progress in identifying their corpse. None of the images she had away the clue that would point her in the wrong direction.  
“Absent a miracle, we’ll just have to wait for the DNA report.”  
She immediately dashed back to her computer and began searching through the rest of the images until she found the one she desired.

Tony and McGee on the other hand, had arrived at Fox’s home and after discovering they had no way in unless they got a warrant from the local sheriff, Tony decided it was time to relive his youth and played football; breaking the window and letting himself in which McGee wasn’t to sure about. The place was practically deserted bar a few store bought items of junk. They were about to give up when Tony spied a suspicious looking box in the wall of which McGee informed him it was a DSL line which ran from the jack in the wall to behind the bookcase where, after sliding the bookcase away, they discovered an office hidden behind a door.  
The office was a shrine to saving whales and after typing away at the computer, McGee came up with the answers as to what Fox was doing.  
“Sarin gas. He’s planning to introduce it into a submarine’s air conditioning system. Doesn’t say how.”  
“It wouldn’t take a lot, would it?”  
Tony got on the phone a called in an Emergency Action Message to the Philadelphia so that his team and the sub crew were warned about what was happening and could hopefully prevent it.

When the message came in, Peters ordered the air conditioning to be shut down and torn apart, an emergency blow to be put into effect and wanted Kate and Gibbs up in con immediately.   
As Kate was tidying up the table, an emergency horn sounded and she went flying as the boat tipped. Blindly reaching out, she fell into Gibbs’ body as he crashed against the wall, one hand on his chest the other grasping on to his shoulder while his wrapped around her waist holding her closer than necessary.  
“What’s happening?”  
“Emergency blow.”  
Kate’s lips came dangerously close to his as she pulled herself up to stop sliding down his body, her thigh ending up securely trapped between his. He could feel her warm breath on his neck and was finding it harder to contain the urges that he’d been feeling for her since September. This was now November, and although nothing untoward had happened in the past two months, he felt his resolve breaking while she was pressed this close to his body; very much like she had been on the plane.   
Gibbs hadn’t realised just how well her petite frame fitted against his; how good it felt to have her in his arms again. He had lost countless nights, thinking about this woman who was a multitude of characters.   
Flirtatious, tenacious, strong, independent. She was definitely picky and headstrong. A perfectionist in every way. Her makeup was always immaculate and there was never a hair out of place. He couldn’t help but notice these small details; how could he not when she haunted his dreams every night.  
She didn’t even have to try and be sexy, she just was. Whether she was wearing an NCIS windbreaker, with her hair pulled into a loose bun under her cap or those fitted shirts that despite the fact they were quite loose, they were also just tight enough to show her feminine curves.   
Or skirts. Knee length that bared more than enough leg to make any man weak at the knees. Strong and powerful legs that could break your neck with one solid kick were the same slim, smooth legs that mesmerized him every time she walked past.  
In the office, he could try and distract himself from her by looking over paperwork, or going out for coffee. In here there was nothing to pull his attention away from the scent of her Escada perfume, or that he was close enough to see into her eyes.   
Eyes that at first glance were hazel, but when the light hit them just right they changed to amber. And if you looked really closely around the iris, the colour was pure honey. But when ever Kate looked into the sun, they looked green. Either way, they were always sparkling like diamonds. He could imagine himself holding her like this and looking into those eyes plenty more times, hopefully.   
In this moment, Gibbs felt everything around him, everything he thought he knew about this enchanting woman change. He could damn well try his best to see her as nothing more than a friend and an agent, but he knew it would be futile.  
While Gibbs tried to distract himself from the situation, Kate focused all her attention on the wall behind them instead of his neck which her lips were now millimetres from touching. Sawdust and coffee warped her mind as she tried so hard not to think of him working on his boat at night, in jeans and a white shirt. That image was new, but very much welcomed. Just like Gibbs, Kate couldn’t help but notice things about him; stop herself from feeling his well defined muscles through his outer jacket, or running her fingers over his hair at the nape of his neck.  
She too had lost countless nights, but now actually being caught like this… his heart pounding in his chest responding to hers; their breathing shallow and evenly matched, his body heat surrounding her in a warm cocoon.   
She felt his fingers flex against her back having recently moved from her waist. Kate‘s breathing halted momentarily as she felt herself, against her own free will, move instinctively closer to Gibbs’ chest seeking the safety that she had once previously found in the confines of his arms.  
There was a definite charm surrounding him and Kate could feel herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the invisible net in which she found herself caught in. She’d lost count of the mornings she’d woken with a huge smile after a nightly visit from Gibbs in her sleep, which generally resulted in an ice cold shower before work.   
Damn the fact that at this moment in time, she was miles away from shore and in the middle of the ocean. They both knew that they would both need more than a cold shower after this.  
Finding themselves in this new, and precarious position which was definitely crossing the line between boss and subordinate, the COB burst through the door; pulling himself through the opening only to fall back against the door as it closed.  
“Skipper wants you. Hang on a moment.”   
Kate fought to catch her breathe as the boat righted itself, unnatural images flashing through her mind of which she had become accustomed to recently. Although it was now safe to let go of him, Kate found that she couldn’t quite unclench her fists from his shoulders and it was clear he was having the same difficulty letting go of her waist. His hands felt so good wrapped around her and she prayed the moment to last a few minutes longer just so she could remain pressed against his body.  
Being held so safely in his arms, Kate could feel the iron barrier she had surrounded her heart with too many years ago, slowly begin to collapse. The reason for the barrier was due to the fact that she’d had her heart broken too many times before and didn’t want to risk it another time in fear it would end her. But Gibbs made her safe, made her feel warm in a way she hadn’t felt before.   
If she’d been braver, let her subconscious taken over, maybe she would have found the courage to turn his head towards hers and just kiss him. She felt they’d crossed the boundaries a long time ago and he certainly didn’t treat her like his subordinate for the most part.   
The moment for courage slowly fleeted away and Kate pulled back ever so slightly, just to give them inches of space and to look in his eyes for a sign that she wasn’t the only one who had felt the sudden change in their relationship.   
For maybe about the fifth time in her life, Caitlin Todd found herself speechless and could only say the first word that came to mind, the word that she imagined telling him all the time in her dreams.  
“Wow…”  
“Yep…That’s what they all tell me.”  
Catching the meaning of his words, she gave him a light tap against the chest as he smirked before walking away. Kate could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she followed him out the room, taking a step back to face the COB who was struggling to contain his laughter. Glaring at him, she continued on her journey after Gibbs.

The Skipper was less than pleased with the current situation; the possibility of his crew being exposed to Sarin gas in the confines of the sub. When Gibbs and Kate arrived Petty Officer Drew had escaped to the head, his position being taken over by Martin. The Skipper was pushing to find the impostor while the X.O. broke out the emergency breathing gear.  
“Any idea who the hell he is?”  
“We’re working on it.”  
At that, another message came through on the low frequency receiver telling the crew who the culprit was.  
“Where is Petty Officer Drew?”  
“He had to visit the head, Sir.”  
The four ran from the con to crew berthing where they discovered Drew had suffocated himself with a plastic bag.

With the body having been removed from berthing, Kate and Gibbs headed topside to inform Tony of what had been discovered.  
“Hey, we matched the prints you faxed. Former Petty Officer Second, Sean Travis.”  
“Sonar operator.”  
“That’s right. Spent a couple tours on attack subs before he was dishonourably discharged.”  
“Was he hooked up with the protestors outside the gates?”  
“FBI’s checking that. But they think he and Joshua Fox were part of some small three or four man cell of radical eco-whale freaks.”  
“Did you get Fox and the rest of them?”  
“Not yet. What’s going on down there?”  
“We’re on the surface.”  
Gibbs slammed down his headset and looked out to the horizon as Kate watched him, continuing her conversation with Tony back in Norfolk.  
Engineering continued searching through the air conditioning system and were yet to find the canister of Sarin gas but as long as it remained sealed the crew would be fine. Being fifteen knots faster under water than on the surface, the submarine headed back under, leaving the air conditioning off.  
“It’s going to get hot in here.”  
“Ah, we’re used to taking heat.”  
Gibbs smirked and headed back to the wardroom with Kate in tow. 

Abby was reclining in her chair, idly flicking through Computer Forensics Monthly magazine feeling extremely pleased with herself when Tony came in and played with her pigtails. After discussing Agent McGee, Abby came to the conclusion that the canister was bi and was turned on either by hot or cold.  
“This one digs cold. When the temperature drops below five degrees centigrade, the trigger releases whatever’s in the canister. What is in the canister?”  
“Sarin gas.”  
“Nasty.”  
“Hmm. So what’s cold enough to trigger it on a sub?”  
“Fridge, freezer, air conditioner.”

Gibbs paced the floor with his coffee, absorbed in his own thoughts. With the air conditioning turned off, the entire cabin had become an illegal sweat shop and Gibbs was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than Kate.   
Normally the heat didn’t affect him, but he had stripped down to his polo shirt in between refills of coffee. Kate had also found the heat unbearable and had removed her royal blue sweater leaving her sitting in only her grey pants and crisp white shirt.   
She discovered that seeing Gibbs in his shirt, with just a glimpse of his silver chest hair over the collar, was a refreshing distraction from the heat and as she ran her palm absently over her collar bone, she felt her heart rate increase by the second. The things this man could do to her mind and body even just by being present sent a chill down her spine.  
He was close to breaking his mental stall when he was disturbed by Kate‘s quiet voice; which hadn‘t sounded the same since the impromptu emergency blow.  
“How can you drink coffee when it’s a hundred degrees?”  
“Helps me think.”  
The profiler in Kate could tell there was something wrong with Gibbs and she knew it had to do with not finding the canister of Sarin gas. His shoulders were tensed, and he wasn’t as relaxed as he normally would have been after five or six coffees.  
“What’s bugging you?”  
“Travis not releasing the Sarin.”  
“He never got the chance. He was quarantined or on duty until the air conditioning system was shut down.”  
“What was his backup plan? He would have had one.”  
“What makes you so sure?”  
“This whack job knew he was going to die as soon as he released the gas. Why commit suicide before he could do it?”  
“He knew we were onto him. I mean, like you said, he was a whacko.”  
A knock at the door prevented Gibbs from responding to Kate’s comment and upon receiving Gibbs’ clearance to enter, the Steward brought in a trolley of ice cream. Reciting the list of flavours available to them, Kate rhetorically questioned whether they had enough.  
“There’s about forty gallons more in the galley, Ma’am. Might as well eat it before it melts.”  
“I don’t get it.”  
“Had to make room in the freezer for the body.”  
“Nice…”  
“It’s the only place to preserve it, Ma’am. SOP on a sub.”  
The steward left and Gibbs removed a bowl of ice cream from the trolley. Kate watched amused as Gibbs took a mouthful before he came to a realisation.  
“What?”  
“Anyone who’s served on a sub knows that. Travis didn’t commit suicide to give up. Suicide was his backup plan.”  
Gibbs ran out the room straight into the COB and asked where the freezer was, not giving an explanation for wanting to know.  
“Loading door right here, Sir.  Right there.”   
“The bastard booby-trapped himself.  Once he knew that he couldn’t get in the cooling system, he went to his backup plan before we could arrest him.”      
“The Sarin gas canister was designed to be triggered by cold.  Travis knew that if he died, you’d put him in the freezer.”  
“You mean he swallowed the canister?”       
“Yeah.”       
“If his core temperature gets to the trigger temperature, the gas will be released.”        
Gibbs dragged the black PVC bag from the freezer and it fell with a thud to the floor. The cold air circulated throughout the room as Gibbs unzipped the bag, revealing the dead body which had turned ghastly blue and white due to it’s time in the freezer. Revealing more, they discovered the swollen abdomen and came to a startling conclusion.  
“It already has!”  
“When it leaks out, we’re gonna die!”       
“I’ll get the Skipper to do another emergency blo--”       
“There’s no time for that!  Kate, go fill in the Skipper.  Come on!  There’s one way to get this guy off this boat in a hurry.  Go!  Move it!”   
Kate ran to the con while Gibbs zipped up the bag and with the help the of the COB, they began the emergency evacuation down to the torpedo room. It didn’t take long for them to arrive below deck and after removing Evans from tube one where he was doing maintenance, they loaded in the body and began the process of firing.  
With the prospect of almost passing out, Gibbs began heading back to the ward room where there were still trays of ice cream and coffee that were beckoning his return.  
“COB, I don’t have to tell you what the most important thing is now, do I?”  
“Get the ice cream back in the freezer.”  
“Exactly.”

Once they got back to the office, neither Kate nor Gibbs could erase the images of being pressed against each other or held in each others arms from their heads. Kate was pretty sure that if the COB hadn't been in the room, Gibbs would have bent her backwards over the table and had his wicked way with her. Yet more thoughts in extremely forbidden territory danced through her mind at the simple idea of being in the same small room with him for more than twelve hours.  
She realised a little too late, as she stood at the partition watching Tony and McGee, that Gibbs' musky coffee scent she could still smell and the heat radiating through his clothes onto her skin she could still feel were not a part of her over-Gibbsed, under sexed, erotically charged imagination; he was standing directly behind her.

Gibbs watched as Tony walked Agent Timothy McGee to the elevator before approaching Kate. Standing behind her, he waited as she took in his presence and both seemed to appreciate the closeness of their bodies.   
While his right hand held his never ending container of coffee, his left hand came dangerously close to either cupping her backside, grazing her inner thigh or both. With her acceptance of his arrival, he decided to see how far he could push it before she eventually snapped as he began swinging his hand closer and closer to her tush.  
For a moment, he removed his hand so he could lean against the partition and watch the exchange between his senior field agent and the probationer. Instantly he regretted his action as Kate tensed ever so slightly with the sudden loss of contact that she’d been so near in receiving and she focused her attention on why Tony was standing by the elevator, his face contorted as if he’d just been dumped.   
"I wonder what he said to make Tony speechless."  
"He told him he got a tat on his ass."  
Surprise was one of the things Kate felt apart from the loss of Gibbs' presence. It no longer bothered her that she didn't feel uncomfortable when he stood that close to her. The other thing she felt was the ever so subtle grazing of her rear as Gibbs walked away, leaving her standing speechless at the partition.  
By this point during the day, and after everything that had already occurred on the submarine, there were so many emotions and thoughts running through Kate's head and body, that she was ready to turn and run after him, possibly bruising her thighs as he pushed her against his desk. That had been the second time that day she'd imagined being thrown down on a desk. Either she was extremely horny, or extremely attracted to her much older, strikingly handsome boss. She also pondered if he had this effect over every woman he encountered or if it was just her.  
If Kate had been brutally honest; truthfully, gut-wrenchingly honest with herself, she may have found she'd never felt this way about a guy before. With Tim, perhaps it had just been a sexual thing because she had found it far too easy to break up with him, just a day after she'd met Gibbs.  
It would also be at this point she'd remember once being told that being truly in love with a person and wanting to spend the rest of her life with them would feel like the flu. Was it a simple coincidental fact that on the exact day she encountered Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, she'd fallen ill with the flu?  
What she did know for a fact, however, was no matter what had or hadn't happened between them since they'd first met in September; she was falling way over her head and heart in love with this man.


	3. Covert Operations

Covert Operations  
Tell me what do you think you see  
You stand there in your corner looking out on me; you think I'm so predictable  
Tell me what you think I am, looks can be deceiving better guess again  
Tell me what you see when you look at me

Kate had barely slept the last week, the events of the previous case haunting her dreams. She knew if she had taken just one more step forward she wouldn’t be alive now, but she was thankful to Suzanne McNeill because she had taught her a valuable lesson; never believe what you’re told. Double check. Gibbs had taught her this within the first half hour of knowing him, but she hadn’t quite understood it’s meaning until she was able to apply to life.   
The dust cloud from the explosion had left Kate with a nasty cough, which after a few days turned into a mild throat infection. She wasn’t exactly in the best of moods to go to work, seeing as she could hardly talk, but had assured Gibbs she was fine and ready to come back. The case she and the team were currently assigned to allowed for more than one opportunity to spar with DiNozzo and flirt outrageously with Gibbs.   
Sitting in the car now, she remembers how Tony had dived in front of the rising tide, resulting in a little pain his way. It wasn’t her fault the water was cold, or the way Gibbs had casually and humorously mentioned his slight problem to her. His replacement outfit, however, was one of the funniest things she’d seen in a while; one of Ducky’s overalls, which was a tad too small for Tony.   
Back at the office, Kate had taken the time to harass Tony over his dietary habits, while he had been consuming a nutrition bar at the time. That was one of the more stranger conversations she’d had with him. She’d take to calling every strange conversation with Tony the ‘strange but it’s happening’.

*~*~*~*~*~*   
“It’s okay. I got it, Tony. Don’t you worry. Wouldn’t want to disturb your lunch.”  
“You got me thinking, Kate. Maybe I should improve my diet.”  
“When are you going to start?”  
“What do you call this?”  
“Bad things masquerading as something good for you?”  
“This is a nutrition bar. It says so on the label.”  
“Did you read the label? The little one with the ingredients not just the big one with the pretty colours?”  
“Oh, sarcasm is so not healthy, Kate.”  
“Neither is that. Let’s see…we’ve got here…High fructose corn syrup, basically sugar; uh…high maltose corn syrup, another sugar; sugar, sugar; fractionated palm kernel oil. That sounds yummy! And contains less than two percent natural flavour. That would make it, ninety eight percent artificial flavour.”  
“What are you saying?”  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

Laughing silently as she considers the fact that she’s sucking on a lollipop, she returns her attention back to the PDA in her hands and continues reviewing the information. Currently, this was exactly what she needed while being sat in a parked car in the middle of a Georgetown street waiting for their person of interest to show up, with Gibbs by her side.  
Gibbs was leaning back in his seat, drinking his coffee from the Styrofoam cup which seemed permanently attached to his hand and lips. He was desperate for a distraction from Kate and her lollipop, but found his distraction was not the best he could have come up with.  
His head was filled with the images of the previous case, where Kate was sat on an ambulance gurney, broken. The physical pain they were both feeling due to the explosion was nothing compared to what the young female was feeling emotionally. He’d intended on voicing his concerns over Kate’s attachment to Suzanne McNeill but had gotten distracted along the way. It was becoming a regular occurrence where Kate was involved. In the beginning he was going to tell her what a bad idea it was, taking the woman into her custody, into her home, but knew that Kate being the woman she was, would say her actions were in the best interests of the case or something to that effect and most likely end up on the gurney anyway. It had taken him a while to clear that image from his head, but he was sure it hadn’t evaporated as easily as he’d hoped. Not only had his agent taken that woman into her house, but she’d whole heartedly trusted her. 

*~*~*~*~*~*   
Kate sat alone on the gurney, a woollen blanket thrown round her shoulders as the EMT’s dressed her wounds. Her eyes weren’t focusing on anything specific, just the black tarmac below her feet. She knew that Tony and Gibbs were standing a few feet away, but she couldn’t bear to look at them, feeling somewhat embarrassed and unworthy of Tony’s sympathetic looks and what she supposed would be looks of shame and disappointment from her superior.  
Gibbs couldn’t feel anything but hurt. Not for himself and the damage caused from the explosion, but for Kate. He couldn’t bear to see his young, slightly inexperienced agent completely shattered like this. It was like a piece of his heart was breaking every time a new bandage was placed on the wounded woman. How she had received worse injuries than either he or Tony scared him. They’d all roughly been standing close together, and yet it was Kate who had the grazed forehead and the cut forearm which was currently being stitched and bandaged. His gaze eventually drifted to his feet until his attention was caught by Tony.  
“We ought to do something, Boss.”  
“Have you ever made a mistake, Tony?”  
The weakened voice of his boss shook Tony to the core. This was one of the many thing’s he’d hoped he’d never have to witness; his boss showing a weakness. Yes, Tony too felt pain for Kate, but obviously not in the same immense waves that Gibbs was. He knew Gibbs liked, maybe even loved Kate, he knew the signs because so did he.  
“According to you or me?”  
“You.”  
“Yeah.”  
There was a small exchange between the two men as they stood by the ambulance, in which they discovered they both simply wanted to wrap their arms around Kate and tell her that it wasn’t her fault and that it’d all be okay. If not tonight then eventually it would all piece together and become easier to manage. The guilt would leave her body and soul, and the explosion she’d found herself caught in was not due to karma, it was simply bad luck.  
“Could anyone make you feel better?”  
“No.”  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

Shaking his head slightly to remove this image once again, his memory rewound further and took him back to his and Kate's expedition on the submarine in which they found themselves pressed rather embarrassingly, though snugly, together as the effects of the submarine's emergency blow took hold.   
In the few months of working with Katie Todd, he had found various excuses to touch her back, or arm just as she had done; drawn out touches when handing over a report, or simply having her pressed beneath him when a bomb went off or an emergency blow occurred. Gibbs couldn't believe that he was falling in love with a woman he had originally accused of double homicide.  
Being in the cramped bathroom with her, feeling her fists pummel his chest, her small, soft, warm body pressed against his tightly as he tried to remove the emotional distress of which he had caused her.   
Gibbs quickly came to realise, that although the short answers he was giving Kate seemed to satisfy her to some extent, he would eventually have to pay attention to her and what she was saying. Miss Todd had already proven herself to be quite a satisfying distraction, merely by sitting at the desk next to his in the office and this fact was more than justified by Gibbs' inability to focus on anything other than the tantalizing woman sitting mere inches from him.  
Kate, in the meantime, seemed relatively undisturbed by Gibbs' lack of attention as she was busy focusing every inch of her own attention to the Palm Pilot she held in her hands and sticking the blackcurrant lollipop between her lips as a way of suppressing her moans as she too recalled varying incidents in which she had been thrust into Gibbs' arms, found herself beneath his body or simply found a reason to touch him a moment longer than necessary. There were several incidents she recalled fondly, but none so much as the submarine incident, or the bikini incident.   
It had been a few long trying days being stuck in a room with both Tony and Gibbs. With a little luck, Gibbs had sent Tony to the Naval Exchange in Puerto Rico to follow up a lead, which he did, and had also found time to do a little souvenir shopping for his colleagues.   
While he had bought Gibbs an introductory guide to MMORPG’s, in Spanish, he’d come back with something a little more daring for Kate. His excuse was that it was Puerto Rican but that hadn’t stopped her from abandoning it aboard the ship.  
Shocked simply hadn’t been the word when she’d opened the bag and pulled out a pink and black sun hat, followed by matching bikini briefs. She remembers every word clearly to this day.

*~*~*~*~*~*   
“You’ve got to be kidding.”  
The lascivious smile Tony wore proved he was deadly serious with his offering.   
“It’s a bikini. Two piece.”  
“A bottom, and a hat?”  
“Puerto Rican.”  
Raising her eyebrows disbelievingly at Tony, she felt Gibbs eye up the material and then her body and couldn’t stop the shiver running up her spine. Her attention was soon pulled from Tony when she heard Gibbs in her ear, his tone somewhat different to what she normally accustomed to him.   
“Any chance you’re going to try that on?”  
“You first.”  
She threw the material at her boss, who at this moment was turning her legs to jelly and laughed as he continued to inspect it.  
“Trust me, it’s not going to fit.”  
“Pigs. I work with pigs.”  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

The simple fact that Gibbs had asked her if she were going to try on the small black and pink coloured material had nearly driven her mad. At the time, she had passed it off as being cooped up with him in such a small room for several days. Now the more she thought about it, the more she regretted not telling him that she would be trying it on and that he was welcome to come by for a personal viewing. Although if that had happened, she wasn't so sure she'd be able to contain herself as she sat beside him now. It was hard enough already.  
It was during Kate's fourth recollection of being pressed against him and held in his arms that she decided is was best for both of them if she were to drag them back to the present.  
"Jeremy Wirth...twenty-three...current address, thirty-five B Maple, Georgetown. Graduated MIT at twenty."  
She held up the Palm Pilot for Gibbs to read the information for himself and she noticed that he was still clearly distracted by something, although he was paying attention to her.  
"I'm impressed."  
Although slightly put out by his lack of enthusiasm for the case and lack of interest, Kate decided to press on.  
"Been with the agency six months...working as a satellite analyst. That's all we got."  
The sudden silence in the sedan pulled Gibbs from his fantasy of sharing an elevator with Kate under extremely hinky and or kinky circumstances. Kate's position in the silence was explained by the lollipop being back in her mouth and the slight reddening of her cheeks. She too was having hinky thoughts; the type of thoughts a good catholic girl like she shouldn't have. Under any circumstances. Although, and Kate definitely felt the burning of her cheeks for this as she laughed internally, she'd never done it on an autopsy slab before.  
"Why would they use someone so green on such a covert assignment?"  
"Too bad we don’t have a photo."   
"Don’t need one. He’ll fit the profile."  
Kate remained silent for a moment and sucked on her sweet thoughtfully before coming to a conclusion.   
"I think geeky, right?"   
"Well yeah, Kate, something like that."   
"Ha!"  
This side to Jethro Gibbs was a rarity. He never smiled, nor laughed and when he did it was usually with an air of sarcasm. Only Kate and Abby were privy to this softer side of Gibbs and Kate felt flattered that she was one of the few allowed to see it; that she was one of the few that had some shared interests with him.  
"Have you ever seen Robert Redford in Three Days of the Condor?"   
"Yes."   
"That’s a geek I could get covert with."   
"Kate, I would not get my hopes up. Check it out."  
Gibbs could feel in his gut that there was an underlying message somewhere in Kate's comment but he couldn't bring himself to justify his actions towards her; or the fact that when she was near he simply couldn't concentrate. There were no doubts in his mind that she too felt the same, judging by her attitude towards him and some of her comments, but he couldn't risk her getting burned, or himself for that matter.  
Kate was a woman who knew what she wanted and was determined to get it at any cost. How could he be absolutely sure that he was what she wanted? Her mere presence made him giddy with excitement, just knowing he'd get to spend the whole day with her. He looked forward to arriving at work in the mornings, waiting for her arrival and he wondered if she felt the same.   
He was always thrilled when she came up with an answer or an idea and smiled triumphantly. That smile was worth more than words or actions. It was that smile, which caused a dimple in her cheek, which made her eyes sparkle like diamonds, which could melt any man's heart, any woman's heart, made Gibbs come to the realisation that Kate would break his heart in an instant if he discovered that she didn't feel the way he did about her.   
It was at this moment he decided, that in order to save themselves from possible future harm of broken relationships, he must re-evaluate his convictions and add a new rule. Thus, rule twelve was created. He'd previously told Kate on a case in Gitmo that relationships between agents never worked. For a second, he'd seen the pain in her eyes until she counteracted his comment by asking if he were speaking from personal experience. For a lack of answer, she left him to his work, feeling somewhat downtrodden by that lack of openness. It made him more determined to stick to his initial instinct; keep her at arms length.  
Kate Todd was a person who was designed for men like him to look and not touch. She had a fragile beauty surrounding her and he didn’t want to break that. As much as he wanted her, he couldn’t take the risk of damaging her. His previous partner came to mind and the reasons why it didn’t work with her. It was thanks to that woman that he invented an extra rule to his long list; rule number twelve. It hadn’t worked out with her, despite spending months together, and so he created never date a co-worker because it was a really, really bad idea to get involved with anyone who came close to resembling a co-worker. Kate Todd was no exception.   
He watched as she exited the car and headed towards Jeremy Wirth with sheer determination. She was a feisty one, he had to admit. She showed a keen interest in his love life, or lack there of, and was always overly interested in what he thought of her. They shared the occasional hidden smirk over Tony, and more than the occasional flirtatious remark. She never chastised him for taking her coffee and drinking more than considered to be a mouthful without her permission. She only responded with the horrified look of disgust and a sarcastic comment, so in return, he never chastised her for commenting on his failed marriages, or his obsession with coffee, or anything else.   
He simply allowed himself to partake in the game they were playing and every now and then, he found he was losing.   
Losing didn't come easily to Jethro Gibbs. Not closing a case was one thing, but losing in a game of flirtation and charm, which simply came so easily to him, was one of the worst things he could lose. Depending on who he lost out to, he thought.   
He vaguely remembered his previous partner again. She was feisty. Tenacious. A red head. He lost out to her on a few occasions but that had felt different some how compared to the game he played now.   
But Kate was different. Kate was a whole different ball game completely. He pondered a moment and realised that despite the fact she never had the colouring, she definitely encapsulated what had attracted him to his previous wives and one night stands.   
They were fiery, determined. Kate was fiery and determined. Kate was everything he’d looked for in his previous relationships but he had discovered a little too late that he didn’t particularly like the women he married. They never had any common ground, or values. Kate did and he liked Kate.   
The fire that burned in her soul that created this being, was the very thing he’d been looking for since Shannon. A woman with understanding, beliefs, fire, morals and standards. A woman who knew what she did and didn’t like; self-respect, dominancy, self-worth; who knew when to speak and when to hold her tongue; who knew what he was saying, when he hadn’t spoken a word.   
A woman who wouldn’t back down under his stare and who pushed until she found the answer she’d been searching for to the questions she‘d asked about his life.   
A woman, that despite the harsh reality in the cold light of day, still smiled and battled on as if she was fighting her own personal war.   
A woman who was determined to save the lost souls of the world; determined to save him, and he knew that’s what she was secretly trying to do to him.   
To pull him from his dark loneliness and scotch into a world of sunshine and sparkles. Of laughter and smiles. Take him somewhere he belonged; into a world where no matter what challenges it threw at you, you’d still find the strength to stand up and keep on fighting.  
Some may describe Kate as being tempestuous, or stuck up. The word bitch had arisen from some jealous colleagues once before. Occasionally, yes, she could be stubborn, wouldn’t listen to reason and fought back; but these were the very characteristics that made Caitlin Todd who she was. Made her the agent she was. Without them, she would surely become misanthropic, surly. She would fall into the world where late nights, no sleep and no relationships replaced fun and laughter and late nights with friends.  
A flaw which he so easily saw in himself and was determined not to let this smart, brilliant, attractive woman acquire.  
His thoughts had crept upon him again as he stood in the doorway talking to Jeremy Wirth with Kate by his side. He stood close, like he always did, but not so close to make her uncomfortable, or in some cases overly comfortable with his presence as he continued talking to Jeremy about what he was watching on the satellite.   
"You play ball with me, I can square it with Rober."   
"You can do that?"   
"With the exception of finding a decent barber, Gibbs can do pretty much anything he says he can."  
Gibbs looked towards Kate for a moment before looking to the side. He, personally, didn't think there was anything wrong with his hair. It wasn't too long, or too short. It was...indescribable. Very much like Gibbs himself. There was nothing about Gibbs that could possibly be described as completely normal; he was a man of more questions than answers. But he had picked up on the flirtatious banter she was throwing his way earlier in the car and decided to throw it back.   
"I was watching…not watching… I wasn’t watching the guy in the wetsuit. I was watching something else and happened to notice activity at the edge of the screen."   
"What kind of something else would this be?"   
"A person."   
"Female person?"   
"Yeah."   
"Kind of a babe female person?"   
"Really hot. I stumbled across her by accident. She was polar tanning."   
The confused look on Gibbs face was enough to start Kate laughing as she explained to him exactly what polar tanning was. She tried her hardest to suppress her laugh, but that expression was just too much.  
"Nude winter sunbathing."  
Hearing this, Gibbs' mind slowly drifted into forbidden Kate territory as he pictured her naked on a beach in the middle of winter. He was sure it hadn't shown on his face, but it had definitely shown in his voice and he knew Kate had picked up on the slight change as he spoke.   
"Must get cold."   
"Oh, she was Sir."  
Kate had indeed picked up on the change in Gibbs' voice and decided once again, it was time to pull them all from gutterville, something which she had plenty of experience in as of recent.  
"And you think that’s an appropriate use for a billion dollar satellite, Jeremy?"   
"I got a little off track with my priorities."   
"That happens with hot babes sometimes. So you didn’t see who attacked Commander Egan?"   
This surprising comment shocked Kate completely. It had obviously been directed at her, but for what reason she was unsure. Could it have been simple payback for the barber comment? Or had he caught the flirting ball and thrown it back her way? She pushed this strange, yet very nice comment to the back of her mind and tried once again to get out of gutterville and forbidden Gibbs territory.  
After a few more minutes talking to Wirth and a trip to CIA headquarters in Langley, Kate and Gibbs found themselves yet again in a comfortable silence that served them both well.  
Kate was working on her Palm Pilot again, making out a list of times with Gibbs that seemed to slightly bother her. At the top of her list she had the fact he accused her of murder, twice. A few numbers down was a scenario that really freaked her out. Tony had spilt Gibbs' coffee on many occasions and had received a sharp slap to the back of his head followed by low grumbling on Gibbs' behalf.   
Kate had spilt it once and he hadn't said a word. He had merely looked down at her while she smiled up apologetically and offered to get him a new one. The next day however, she found herself outside a building, practically yelling at Gibbs and telling him the reasons why it was unconscionable for her not to be assigned the case simply because she was a woman. Had she been in a calm state of mind, she would have noticed the twinkle in his eyes as he smirked at her while she listed the reasons she should go.   
It was while sitting in the car on the journey back to headquarters that it suddenly hit her. He wanted her on that submarine since they'd learned about the case. He hadn't been too pissed off with his lack off coffee the previous morning and had been thoroughly amused at Kate's reaction the next day. Yes, he had definitely wanted her there with him in the small cabin room. Perhaps it was for her profiling skills and her perfectionism. Or perhaps, on some deeper level, he had wanted her there for another reason.


	4. It\'s Written In The Cards

It’s Written In The Cards  
I know something about love; you’ve got to want it back  
If that guy’s got into your blood; go out and get him  
If you want him to be the very part of you that makes you want to breathe  
Here’s the thing to do  
Tell him that you’re never gonna leave him  
Tell him that you’re always gonna love him  
Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him right now

After a few trying cases at work, the most recent being in which the team had flown to Colombia to save a Marine and take down a CIA turncoat. Then, over the past two days had been another case also involving the CIA and their satellite technician’s habit of spying on nude sunbathers. Between the two, Kate had almost got herself, as well as Gibbs and Tony killed, and was thankful for the rest.  
It hadn’t completely been her fault; she was pulled in by the victim, Suzanne McNeill, since her lies had been consistent. Naturally, Gibbs had tried to warn her, but Kate’s headstrong attitude lead her to believe what Suzanne was telling her. She deeply regretted her actions, and was also thankful that her team had survived the blast.   
Tonight, however, she was hanging out with Abby. What with their recent cases, they hadn’t had the chance for a decent gossip and the fact that Tony was usually lurking round the corner eavesdropping trying to gather blackmail material on his girls. Abby had shown up at Kate’s apartment at seven with her tarot cards and margarita mix, determined to slough off work, get drunk and tell Kate’s future.  
A few hours and margaritas later, Abby was trying to teach Kate how to read tarot cards without success. Kate, having lost that wide eyed wonder of the world and not being a believer was one thing, but the amount of alcohol coursing through their veins certainly wasn’t helping matters.  
“I don’t know how to read tarot cards, Abbs!”  
“Just try it. Come on, it’ll be fun.”  
Grudgingly, Kate picked up the deck of fancy cards and began turning them and making a mockery of what was laid before her.  
“Okay…well there’s a crazy old lady that keeps showing up and a…”  
Having turned the second card, Kate was slightly taken aback. She didn’t believe in fate, or coincidences, she just took things how they were. The card before her though clearly depicted that of a knight in shining armour, but she’d already met hers. Or rather, her marine with silver hair.  
“And a what?”  
“A knight in shining armour.”  
Abby immediately began giggling, thinking that this was one of the most funniest things she’d ever seen and heard in her life. She had so badly wanted her best friend to realise that there was someone absolutely perfect for her in life, and perhaps this was the way to do it.   
At work, Abby had seen how both Tony and Gibbs responded to Kate; whether it be her attitude or her looks, but knew Gibbs had the strongest response to the feisty woman. She was dead set on somehow getting Kate and Gibbs together, and once Abby had her mind set there was no stopping her. She’d also noticed the sparkle that Kate had recently acquired in her eyes and knew that someone had caught her attention recently.  
“This is so yours!”  
“What?! Why?”  
“Because you’ve got a twinkle in your eyes and you’ve either got diamante contacts or you’re in love.”  
“Well, I don’t wear contacts.”  
“Oh my god! Kate’s in love! How did I not know this? Who is it? Is it Tony?”  
“God no. It’s just someone…I know.”  
“Yeah…and?”  
“He’s just someone I had the pleasure of meeting a while ago, that’s all. We see a lot of each other and we talk practically every day.”  
Yeah, when he’s in a good mood, Kate thought to herself.  
“And he’s just so handsome and passionate. Especially about his work. But Abby, seriously…I’ve never met anyone quite like him before.”  
“Does he feel the same about you?”  
“I don’t know. We’ve never actually spoke about it.”  
Kate lowered her head. She could just imagine the conversation she’d have with Gibbs after she’d told him she loved him. Her thoughts drifted back to the night he offered her the job, telling her that if she pulled that crap at NCIS she wouldn’t have the chance to resign.  
“Okay…honey I’m worried about you because you’re turning into a little bit of a freak. And I think it’s from not having sex.”  
“Look, just because I haven’t been in a relationship for a while doesn’t mean I’m miserable. I just want a sweet guy. Someone who‘s strong but who opens a door once in a while and who…notices things. You know. Maybe makes a difference.”  
“Aww…that is so sweet.”  
“And I really think this guy is the sweet yet strong, difference making observer that I’m looking for.”  
“So how are you gonna tell him?”  
“I have no idea.”  
“I do! Give me his name and number and I’ll tell him for you!”  
“That’s just the thing though, I think he already knows, I just don’t know what to do about it.”  
“Tell him…Anyway, I am so drunk and so tired.”  
“Me too. Crash here.”  
“You sure?”  
“Yes. You’re in no condition to drive and it’s not all that safe getting a cab this late at night. Well…this early in the morning. So then, it‘s settled. You‘ll take a bed and I‘ll take a bed.”  
“Done deal.”  
Placing their empty glasses in the kitchen, Kate stumbled after Abby, heading into her own room to dream of Gibbs while Abby headed to the spare room, which she had practically moved into to formulate a plan to help her best friend out.  
Damn, she thought, I really thought I could get Kate and Gibbs together…


	5. Je t\'aime Caitlin Todd

Je t’aime, Caitlin Todd   
Ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny   
And you can't move on even though you try  
Ain't it strange when you're feeling things you shouldn't feel, oh I wish this could be real  
Ain't it funny how a moment can just change your life  
And you don't wanna face what's wrong or right  
Ain't it strange how fate can play a part, in the story of your heart

He didn’t really know how he ended up there, on his way to her apartment. He had just hailed a cab and told the driver her address, not focusing on the turns or the traffic. He knew there were reasons why he shouldn’t be doing this, why he shouldn’t be invading her private life and her home, but he had to make sure she was okay. That’s what he was telling himself anyway.  
The car came to a stop outside an attractive apartment block and again he doubted if his actions would be appreciated for what they were. Gibbs wasn’t exactly known for his caring, nurturing nature. It was more Kate’s area of expertise and it was usually herself who dealt with that side of life.   
He stood on the sidewalk for a moment, letting the rain wash over him and drown out the guilt he felt for not getting to her sooner, for not protecting her better. He looked up to the sky, the soft rain dropping into his face and he caught sight of the light glowing from a window on the second floor; hoping and assuming it was her light.  
He took the stairs slowly, running through a choice amount of scenarios in his head before he actually reached her door. She could tell him she was fine and hope he would accept it. Or she could break down in front of him and still tell him she was fine. And then there was the chance that she wouldn’t say anything, just wait for him to explain what he was doing there.  
But now was not the time for second thoughts.  
He knocked on the door and waited for her. He half expected her to ignore it, remain locked inside where he assumed she’d feel she was safe. With no answer, he knocked again and again he waited. Just as he was giving up and turning to head back downstairs, the door opened and revealed to him the worrying sight of a slightly dishevelled young woman.   
The pink top and grey pants she’d worn that day had been replaced with an oversized NCIS t-shirt and red sweatpants. The brunette locks that framed her face were held back in a loose barrette, leaving only her bangs to brush her eyes. Red rimmed eyes that betrayed her apparent coolness and nonchalance. Eyes that tonight she couldn’t hold to his, pulling them away almost instantly as if defeated or weakened. Perhaps ashamed. The quick glance he’d got of them showed she wasn’t at all surprised to see him, more relieved than anything else.  
An intensely defined shadow hung over her as she stood in the doorway, one Gibbs recognised to be denial and self-loathing. Her young skin and youthful appearance declared tonight that she felt anything but young and youthful. Her natural beauty had been replaced with distinct melancholy and perhaps just a little anarchism.  
The day had already been proven to be one for breaking all the rules, and the conflicts, doubts and second thoughts Gibbs was having were swiftly pushed aside when he seen how thoroughly devastated Kate was by all the events that had occurred; why not break just a few more.  
Crying women weren’t exactly his forte, one of the things he found least pleasurable in all the world was sitting with a crying woman, but he wouldn’t be able to hold back if Kate suddenly broke down in front of him. She was his agent and his friend and if she needed someone, then there he was.  
She waited for him to say something, to ask to be allowed in, or to question her in the doorway. The words never came. Finding the last ounce of strength in her being, she raised her head to look at him, hoping to find an answer to his appearance at her home in his eyes or face but there was none. She couldn’t find her own voice to ask the questions, to find the answers, instead she dropped her head to her chest again and half-heartedly wiped away to tears that were slowly running down her cheeks.   
Upon arriving home, after writing her report and answering a barrage of questions from Tony, Kate had stripped of her clothes and stepped into the shower in the hopes of finding some clarity in the hot water, of dispersing the feeling of unwanted hands running so free over her body. When she felt cleaner, and slightly saner, she’d dressed and sat on her bed for at least thirty minutes in delayed shock.   
It was after eleven when she’d left the confines of her room, knowing she wouldn’t find peaceful sleep and had pulled the unopened bottle of wine from the cabinet. She’d moved about her small living room as if it was an ordinary night; mindlessly surfing through TV channels hoping for a distraction that she couldn’t find, turning on the radio in the hopes of drowning out her fears in a song which she never heard. In the end she’d simply sat on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket and cried.   
The wine, whether it had been red or white she couldn‘t remember, had only lowered the limit to which she normally allowed her emotions to go and as soon as the first tear had fell from her eyes the rest soon followed. She’d never been in that position before, where she’d had the chance to do something, but had been left powerless and defenceless.   
“Kate?”  
It was one word from him, but it helped somehow. It dragged her from the instability of her memory, that somehow was still playing on a loop the events that had happened tonight, and made her function more normally. Still unable to find her voice, she simply nodded and opened the door wider, moving back to the sofa as he walked in and locked the door behind him.   
He joined her silently, she sitting at one end of the sofa with her knees pulled up to her chest and the blanket around her shoulders, and looked at the coffee table that was littered with tissues and an empty bottle of wine. Gibbs knew she needed to talk about what had happened because if she didn’t, she was likely to explode and he needed Kate more than he cared to admit. He needed her strength when he was weak just like she needed his. He’d seen her cry once before, but she’d quickly set that aside and became the professional again. He wasn’t so sure it would be as easy as that this time.   
“What are you doing here, Gibbs?”  
Her voice was quiet and hoarse, ever so slightly quavering, lacking it’s usual bright, laughing tone. They had both been hurt tonight, that was more obvious on him than her, but Kate had gone through more than he had the mind to sincerely acknowledge.   
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”  
“Seems I should be asking you that.”  
Her gaze was transfixed on his left arm and shoulder, which was currently bandaged and strapped up. It was painful and the change in the weather wasn’t helping that ache, but it hurt him more to see Kate so down. He watched her again, more intently this time, as she crossed her arms over her chest, her hands grabbing hold of her elbows which were violently shaking. He feared that she’d been shaking like this since she’d got to the sanctity of her apartment and that it was slowly worsening.  
“I’m fine, Katie. How about you?”  
“I’m okay.”  
She waited to see if he was going to contradict her, tell her she was anything but okay. Tell her that being locked away from the world with a bottle of wine was a sure sign that things were far from fine. But he didn’t. He was waiting for her to come to him, for her to accept the fact that she wasn’t fine and that he was there to make sure she would be. With a heavy sigh, she lowered her head back to her chest. She’d learned long ago that Gibbs had a way of getting information from her, whether it be pertinent to the case they were working or just for his own personal use. What he did with the information he gained from her when it had no correlation to a case she didn’t know, but was also keen to find out.   
It took her a while of bittersweet contemplation if what she was about to reveal would be used as identifying who she was as an agent, or if it would garner her sympathy. Five minutes of silence in which she recalled the brutal details which she had so vehemently tried to erase from her mind and body through a hot shower. She knew it would hurt her more if she didn’t talk about it, if she kept to herself what she had witnessed and felt, but whether relaying it to Gibbs would help or not was something left unseen. It was with another shuddering sigh, that betrayed her slowly weakening mindset that she slowly opened up to her boss.  
“In his eyes…there was this look…he could have had me. He made sure I knew it.”   
“What look, Katie?”  
“Want. He wanted me. I felt it when he touched me, and seen it when he looked at me. He could’ve…”  
The rest of her words were drowned out when the sob she had been so confident in holding back was ripped from her throat, but Gibbs knew what the rest were. He was momentarily stunned when the meaning of her words sunk into his brain and he knew, for Kate being a profiler, that what she had seen and felt was probably pretty accurate to what the man was thinking.   
Without thinking about it, he moved his body closer to hers and pulled her into him with his good arm. She went willingly to him, burying her head in his shoulder and neck, drowning out her sobs, safe in the hope that he wouldn’t let go anytime soon. Her pain and fear tore through his heart as he felt her wrap her arms around his waist; he only wished he had two good arms to wrap around her more securely but settled for second best by resting his chin against her forehead where he was able to plant reassuring kisses.  
It was a good hour of silence, letting her cry it out, passing her tissues and stroking her hair, which had eventually came loose from its binding, before she calmed enough to form a coherent sentence. She had cried in front of him before and no longer had any qualms now, especially now, despite knowing how much he didn‘t like being around crying women.  
She shifted slightly in his arm, pulling back enough to look at him and offer an apologetic smile. His eyes didn’t show any signs of respecting her any less, and she didn’t feel pathetic or ashamed. They were simply shining with warm affection, which she’d never seen in him before, and determined revenge.  
“I’m sorry, Kate.”  
As silly as it seemed, Gibbs’ apology prompted a small laugh from Kate. Whether he’d said it to evoke this in her, or whether he meant it or both, it was disturbing to Kate to think that tonight had also affected him as much as it had her.  
“Thought you said ’never apologise’.”  
“I can make allowances for you. How are you feeling now?”  
“Better. Thank you for this. How about you? Bar the obvious.”  
“Bar the obvious, I am absolutely terrified.”  
His statement pushed Kate to oblivion as she knew Gibbs never admitted any of his weaknesses and she felt her jaw drop open. It seemed to provoke something inside her, something she’d never felt before, and it was like she had a stronger connection to this man than she had first thought. He left no room for her questions before he pushed on, explaining exactly why to her. This too left Kate’s mind spinning as he never explained his actions either.   
“I thought I’d lost you tonight. When we realised you were down there, I swear my heart stopped. It scared me knowing you were down there, not knowing what he could do and equally as scared knowing what you could do. It was only today that I realized what you do to me. What you have been doing to me since I met you; you make me feel free. I don’t ever want to feel as scared as I did today. I’m falling in love with you, Kate, and I don’t want to lose you.”  
The tears that were streaming down her face were of slight shock at the idea that this man, after all these months of debating with herself whether he did or not, was admitting to her what she’d dreamed of hearing. And this slightly scared her as well.  
“Jethro…I’m glad to know I’m not alone. And you never have to worry about losing me. I’m not going anywhere.”  
“That’s good to know.”  
She was as close to him as she could get, but that didn’t stop Kate from moving closer to him. She raised a still visibly shaking hand to his cheek, her thumb running under his eye as her way of erasing the tiredness he was exhibiting. She gave him another smile, softer than before as an unspoken endearment to him. She leaned in slightly and he completed the distance, smiling at her as he did so.   
As much as they wanted to take their kiss further, with Gibbs current predicament it would be relatively hard. They were also mentally and physically drained from everything and it wouldn’t bode very well if either fell asleep.  
Kate pulled back, resting her forehead against his briefly, sighing almost contemplatively. There was something with this scenario that troubled her, but she pushed the worries to the back of her mind in order to focus more on the situation at hand. Moving back to look at Gibbs more fully, she sighed again, this time more content with everything.   
The unspoken worry that danced in her eyes was obvious to him, both fully aware that they were equally as bad at relationships, neither in the past year having a serious relationship with anyone except their work.   
“I can’t offer you the moon or the stars. I’ll forget your birthday. I’m not the most easiest person to get along with, but you already know that. I don’t want to hurt you, Katie, but I can’t change what I am. All I can give you is what’s in front of you; a thrice divorced, work dependent, self proclaimed bastard.”  
“That’s all I could ever want from you. I’d never want you to change; you wouldn’t be you unless you drank a million coffees a day, yelled for no reason and stayed at the office twenty four hours a day. That’s who I fell in love with.”  
“We should probably take this slow.”  
“I agree.”  
Kate moved again so that her legs were over Gibbs’ and she was leaning against his shoulder. They stayed this way for quite some time, detailing to each other when they both figured out when they felt things for each other and what would happen at work. They both agreed they’d wait until Gibbs shoulder was fully healed before delving into any intimacies and it seemed to suit them both pretty well to stick with kissing like hormone riddled teenagers for the next six weeks.   
Gibbs wasn’t quite ready to tell her about Shannon and Kelly, just as she wasn’t ready to tell him about her father, James. Occasionally, when there was a lull in their conversation, Kate would feel Gibbs watching her and when she tilted her head back, he would kiss her. Whether it be her forehead, nose or lips, he kissed her.  
The hand that Gibbs had wrapped around Kate’s waist, was suddenly entwined with hers as a new song filtered through the speakers of the radio. Whether it was chance or coincidence, of which neither seemed to believe, the words of the song seemed fitting to who they were and what was currently happening between them. What had been happening between them for the past six months.  
I don’t know what it is that makes me love you so  
I only know I never wanna let you go  
Cause you started something, can’t you see  
That ever since we met, you’ve had a hold on me  
It happens to be true; I only wanna be with you  
Kate giggled thoughtfully as she turned again from Gibbs’ hold. Sitting beside him, she leaned in and kissed him gently, running a hand through his hair in the most affectionate of gestures.   
“I think this song, is us.”  
“Yeah.”  
Kate leant in and kissed Gibbs again, who returned it with a passion. She pulled back further this time, away from his hypnotizing hold, when she realized how late it was and knowing at least one of them had work in the morning. Knowing Gibbs, however, a busted shoulder wouldn’t keep him from the office, determined to at least start the search for their intruder. It was too late for a cab, and she knew she’d never find sleep alone tonight, so she tentatively decided to voice a thought that had been annoying her since his impromptu arrival.  
“Will you stay?”  
“For as long as you want me.”  
“Well in that case, you’re never leaving this apartment.”  
Standing, Kate turned off the TV and radio before returning to Gibbs and outstretching her hand to him, which he took and intertwined their fingers once again. She waited patiently for him to stand while he remained where he was, quite happy to take in her beauty and the nervousness that was still in her eyes. When he did finally stand, there was a smirk on his lips that made Kate want to question his motives.  
“What you thinking?”  
“That in six weeks…I get to find out if I was right about your tattoo.”  
Kate’s giggles had been coming more frequently all night, and this invoked a real laugh from her, which Gibbs was proud to have brought out from her. She simply smirked back and led him toward her bedroom.  
“Well, I don’t know about my tattoo, but tonight you’ll see that your rules have indeed been crocheted onto my pillows.”  
Gibbs laughed himself, which shocked Kate as she’d never really heard him laugh and found that she quite liked it. She hoped that in the future, she’d not only be able to make him laugh more, but also make him smile, and say sorry, please and thank you more frequently. He’d proved to her that he was quite capable of doing so, but only for her and Abby it seemed.   
She wasn’t planning on changing him, or even attempting to change him, far from it. She fell in love with a self proclaimed bastard and that’s the way it would stay. She would however, rewire him and make him live a little.  
“Let’s move it, Marine.”  
With a final insistent tug on his hand, she finished the journey to her bedroom and closed the door on society.


	6. Surprise Propositions

Surprise Propositions  
Maybe you think you’re not right for me  
That you’ll never be everything I need  
Well I’ll tell you straight from my heart  
You are, you are  
If you don’t think that you’ve the pedigree  
That you’re not someone who can talk to me  
Well I’ll tell you straight from my heart  
You are, you are

The past eight weeks had been blissful compared to what they had been subjected to recently. Gibbs’ shoulder was healing nicely, and he’d also been proven right about Kate’s tattoo not being a rose. They remained professional at work, in order to keep their friends off the scent of their blossoming relationship and to prevent being split up.  
Kate had considered the fact that while in Gitmo a few months ago, Gibbs had told her romance between agents never works and had brought the subject up one evening over dinner. He’d given her his trademark smirk and calmly explained that what was happening between them was not a romance, but was a relationship. Relationships between agents, when approached correctly, could work; they just had to apply themselves wholeheartedly to it. Kate could only smile and drink her wine.  
They spent all the time they could together when they had the chance without work rearing it’s ugly head to spoil their fun, whether it was working on the boat in Gibbs’ basement, leisurely strolls through D.C. at twilight or simply kicking back and watching a movie on Gibbs’ recently acquired television which was situated in his now thoroughly lived in living room.  
Since Kate had become his companion, in both love and work, he’d spent relatively less time in his basement, preferring to spend it in the arms of his lover, finding various ways in which to make her squirm under his touch and kissing her till she was breathless.   
Kate had taken the eight weeks in her stride and had practically moved into Gibbs’ place. She stayed with him most nights, half her clothes were in his wardrobe and the small amount of literature that had resided in his bookcase was over ridden by her copious and varying array of novels. If Gibbs had any problems with almost the entirety of her apartment slowly arriving at his, he said nothing, instead loving that Kate was so comfortable in his home.

Their current case had involved a Seal escaped from Leavenworth seeking revenge for the murder of his wife and her lover of which he had been accused. The two days that the case had run over had been weird for Kate.  
First, there had been her strange but it’s happening conversation with Tony. Why the man had half the thoughts he did and how in the hell he’d gotten into NCIS remained to be seen. 

*~*~*~*~*~*   
“It’s three o’clock in the morning, you hear a strange noise in your house. What do you do?”  
“I slide a pistol from under my pillow and I go after the guy.”  
The way she said it sounded like it was the most normal thing in the world. To some people, like federal government employees yes, but the majority of civilians it wasn’t the most common thing in the world.   
“I’m talking about real people, Kate. Why do they always feel the need to go and look?”  
“It’s called human nature, Tony.”  
“Ah, let me guess. You’re that person in a horror movie that decides since all your friends are dead, you really need to go check out that demonic breathing noise down in the basement.”  
“Well, that beats being the girl who twists her ankle and gets everybody else killed.”  
Tony had definitely watched one too many horror movies in his life, if he had the basic scenario in which Kate would kill herself mapped out. She thought she’d managed to ease past the slip up about her gun, but clearly she was mistaken.  
“You sleep with a gun every night?”  
“Well that depends.”  
“On what?”  
“On who I’m sleeping with.”  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

That had been followed with her equally strange, and no doubt embarrassing conversation which followed after she’d bumped into Gibbs.

*~*~*~*~*~*   
“Um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Tony just asked me what I would do if a man came into my bedroom and I said it depends.”  
There was laughter in his eyes as she made her attempts at explaining, and his lips were slowly turning into a smile, which he knew would piss her off.  
“I mean, it doesn’t depend on the man. Tony, could you help me out here, please?”  
“She sleeps with a gun, boss.”  
“Is that true?”  
Over the years, Gibbs had developed an art of concealing his amusement, especially at his agent’s expense. He raised an eyebrow and remained ever so slightly stoical, perhaps betraying some shock. This was, of course, merely for the fact Tony was standing over Kate’s shoulder, waiting for some sort of repercussion to come of Kate’s personal home safety technique.  
“Sort of. Sometimes. Yes.”  
“Good girl!”  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

He damn well knew it was true since he’d watched her place her beloved sig sauer there whenever and if ever they stayed at her place. The smile that had played on his lips, that all knowing smile, caused her to stumble over her words before settling on a confident yes before his response of a smirk and a ‘good girl’. He knew how much she hated that. She had practically not spoken to him all day unless it was about the case.   
He’d made amends in the car ride however, promising in extreme detail how he planned on making it up to her when the case was closed. She was slowly coming round to his way of thinking by the time they had arrived at their destination, the residence of Mr and Mrs Donaldson who had gained custody of their grandchild after the murder of his mother, and then Gibbs had told her she was on protection detail in case Curtin showed up to take his son. 

*~*~*~*~*~*   
“Is that a nice way of saying babysit?”  
“Hey, you’re catching on.”  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

She spent the night playing solitaire, imagining all the things she was going to do with Gibbs that weekend. However, her night had been interrupted by their person of interest showing up at the house and tying her to a chair. This was so reminiscent of autopsy that it made Kate’s reaction time slightly slower than what it should have been in a case like this. Now that the case had taken a different turn, and all she wanted to do was go home and sleep but knew that wasn’t a possibility as long as Curtin was still free.  
Tonight, however, had definitely been the strangest. Tony had proven himself to be quite intelligent when it came to pressing matters, and as it turned out, it was he who eventually cracked the case. But this only led to more distress for Kate. She wasn’t entirely oppressed to going undercover, but she preferred to do it fully clothed.  
Walking from the elevator earlier, with Tony by her side, she ran over the previous night’s events when Curtin had shown up and couldn’t help but play out different scenarios in her head. Since autopsy, she frequently checked her actions subconsciously, always wondering if she’d taken a different path, or chosen a different method of attack everything she done would eventually lead to a different outcome, whether it be better or worse than what had already happened.  
Now as she stood in the squad room, having another one of those strange but it’s happening conversations with Tony, she could barely contain her excitement at finally being able to spend the whole night with her love. Again today, she’d barely spoken a word to him, not that she had really seen much of him anyway. There was a moment in the evidence garage where they had somehow got on to the topic of boats and he’d smiled at her enigmatically, as he always did when he talked of his pride and joy, when she questioned him about the boat they were currently building together. It was the eyes and smile that had kept her going all day.

When Tony had finally stopped in his diabolical one sided conversation, their attention was drawn to the opening elevator doors and the attractive red head that walked out. The attractive red head who seemed to play a part in Gibbs’ life. Kate had seen her a few times, dropping him off and picking him up from crime scenes, but she had never questioned who she was or of what, if any, relation she was to Gibbs.  
It’s not that she was jealous. Much. She knew herself to be intelligent and that she was fairly attractive. She also knew that her self confidence could do with a bit of a raise, but as long as she heard ‘you’re so beautiful’ falling regularly from Gibbs’ lips, it would happen on it’s own.   
She had hoped that the opening elevator doors had only attracted her attention, but her hopes were shattered when both McGee and Tony spotted her, and also spotted Gibbs walking towards her, presumably coming from interrogation. Kate felt the green ball of envy bouncing in her chest and she silently wondered if after all this time she was just the other woman.  
There was no denying Gibbs’ attraction to fiery red heads, and this woman was clearly a red head. If red heads were his type, then why had he fallen for a fiery brunette instead? She continued to watch the scene before her, as the red head handed over a pair of glasses, Gibbs’ seemingly platonic kiss on her cheek and retrieval of the glasses. Gibbs had surprised her a few weeks earlier, after her second suggestion of him needing glasses. He’d gone for an eye test and had actually gotten himself a prescription.   
She vaguely heard McGee asking who the redhead was, and Tony telling him to ask him himself, but her mind was so overworked and exhausted that at this moment, she couldn’t really care less who she was, although the green ball that was still bouncing said otherwise.

Gibbs strode back to his desk, glasses in hand and pretended not to notice the questioning stares he was receiving from his team, the most dominant being from Kate. He knew he’d have to explain to her one day who the red head was and why she occasionally showed up unexpected. In fact, he’d have to do a lot of explaining to her if the questions bouncing in her eyes were anything to go by. He had yet to tell her about Shannon, and although he already knew about her father, she was yet to tell him. They were still taking things slow, because they’d both been hurt badly in the past and they hoped to break the chain that was associated with them and relationships. Maybe tonight was the night for everything to happen.  
“She dropped off my glasses.”  
This seemed to be a satisfying excuse for both Tony and McGee, but he could still feel Kate’s gaze lingering on him, despite the fact that she was pretending to read a report over Tony’s shoulder. Definitely a lot of explaining tonight.  
“Boss?”  
“Yeah, McGee.”  
“It was really nice working with you again.”  
“Same here, McGee.”  
McGee nodded his thanks and headed toward the elevator before turning back to Gibbs and dropping Kate and Tony in the deep end by telling him they had something they’d been wanting to ask him. This was his way of getting revenge for all the cruel jokes Tony had been pulling on him lately, but he didn’t really want Kate to get in trouble. He liked Kate, she looked out for him and defended him when Tony was too harsh on him. He liked that about her.  
As he walked away, Gibbs stood from his desk and lowered his glasses. Both his subordinates had guilty faces, but it was Tony more than Kate, seeing as she would be on the receiving end of a full explanation tonight. She hoped so anyway. Neither could actually think what to say to their boss, knowing full well that his all knowing thing he had going would see right through any lie they attempted to tell.  
“Uh, when do you want the reports, boss?”  
“Tomorrow. Go home, guys. It’s late.”  
Tony didn’t need telling twice as he grabbed his bag and bolted for the elevator, most likely he had a buxom blonde waiting for him in a bar somewhere in D.C. Kate, on the other hand, moved round so she was leaning against Tony’s desk, her arms folded over her chest, waiting for some form of explanation. He pretended to read over the report before him, feeling Kate’s eyes bore into his neck, knowing full well that if he intended to stick around in the office for a few extra hours, she would wait and go over any paper work that needed doing.   
Kate was slowly growing tired of the silence and when she’d eventually had enough, she stalked to his desk and waited for his attention. She wouldn’t say anything at work, waiting until she was at home, but would wait for him to finish what he was pretending to do to avoid any hard conversations with her.  
“Something on your mind, Agent Todd?”  
“Not at all, Agent Gibbs. I was just wondering, if per chance, you were going home any time soon?”  
“As soon as I’m finished here. Why?”  
“I missed you.”  
She leaned down on his desk, drawing his attention as she’d hoped, and gave him her most pleading and wanting look. While he had an irresistible charm that drew her to him, she had her own feminine wiles that he couldn’t resist and if manipulation was what it took to get her man home, then she would use it. After all, she learned from the best.  
“Really?”  
“More than you know.”  
She smiled briefly, mischief glowing in her eyes, before moving away to her desk and grabbing her bag. Walking towards the elevator, she knew he’d follow her if her gut was accurate. Sure enough, when the elevator arrived on their floor, she heard his computer powering down and his footsteps drawing closer to her. He made it over just in time to squeeze through the rapidly closing doors.  
Kate was leaning against the back wall taking a brief rest after everything she’d accomplished that night, and was also clearly enjoying the significant torture that Gibbs was suffering not knowing what she was up to.  
The sight before him was purely sadistic on Kate’s behalf, and he’d always thought that red heads were evil. Kate had definitely dyed. He couldn’t believe she was acting like this for him while they were still at work.

It was his idea to send her to decoy, a slight differential of undercover work. She’d taken the idea well, at the time, before she’d seen what she would have to wear. She and Mrs Foley were of the same height, same colourings and overall same build. Admittedly, their tastes were slightly different, where Kate would prefer to wear an oversized t-shirt and boxer shorts to bed, Mrs Foley wore something a little more revealing.   
Knowing that Tony would most likely see her in this outfit, if she could even call it that, flustered her slightly as she changed from her work clothes into the extremely revealing red silk negligee. It stopped mid-thigh and that was way more leg than Kate ever considered showing her sex obsessed co-worker. It had been bad enough that he’d seen something to this effect while they were in Gitmo, but she had seen so much more of Tony. That had been a classic moment in her mind and some part of her wished to get to know Tony on a much more personal basis after that.

*~*~*~*~*~*   
…She’d been enjoying her dream, which as all her recent dreams had done recently, involved Gibbs. She heard a screaming in the distance and was woken when she heard Tony screaming out again.  
“Halt!“  
Grabbing the gun from under her pillow she dove out her room and into Tony’s, along side Gibbs.  
The pair rushed in, guns raised expecting to see an intruder, but were instead greeted with the sight on a large green iguana on Tony’s pillow. With the potential threat over, their guns were lowered and they turned their heads to look at Tony, possibly to chastise him for causing such a scene.  
The scene was yet to be caused for when Gibbs and Kate looked at Tony, one was irritated and the other was delightfully amused. Tony grabbed the chair beside him to cover his dignity, Gibbs complaining and stating he needed coffee while Kate remained, taking in Tony in his full glory. Giving him a seductive pout, she winked flirtatiously at him before following Gibbs, leaving Tony to pick up the dignity that had fallen to the floor and shattered before his friends and colleagues.  
He wouldn’t have minded so much if it were just Kate to witness it, but having his boss there?..  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

Curtin had approached her as they thought he would, and the team ended the case on a high; Curtin being returned to Leavenworth. While Tony had led Curtin out of the room, Gibbs had taken a moment to really take a look at Kate, who merely rolled her eyes and growled in his general direction. He liked what he saw and knew he’d be seeing a lot more of it when they got home, and at the time as she sashayed past him, putting a little more swing in her hips, he had thought that he’d seen everything she was willing to offer in a sexual context while at work and so openly in front of a colleague who could return at any moment.

As he stood in the elevator looking at her, he realised a few more buttons of her shirt had remained undone revealing to him a hint of pink lace and just enough of her cleavage to send his already spinning mind into overdrive as his imagination kicked in and made his heart beat ten times faster. They’d divulged their fantasies to each other a few nights ago, so perhaps Kate was using this information to her advantage.  
Kate took a step forward, her fingers idly running over the top buttonhole of her shirt and watched Gibbs’ pupils dilate with her actions. Her seemingly innocent actions. She’d never quite witnessed this, though she’d read of it happening, and had never quite expected the effect it had on her. Her own heartbeat increased and her breathing became shallow as the all too familiar and welcome images danced through her head. Attempting to find sleep tonight without each and every one of those thoughts being played out to their full advantage would be no easy task and also a severe waste of time and energy.  
Closing her eyes for the briefest second, she felt herself sway on her feet before Gibbs arms wrapped around her waist from behind. He lowered his head to her neck and began kissing his way over her jaw and back again; he was going to manipulate her the way he knew how to find out what kind of mischief she was up to. And what it meant for him in the long term.   
“Does this have something to do with the Catholic schoolgirl uniform I found in the back of my closet the other day?”   
Kate stepped back to lean against his chest as she stifled a laugh. She had hoped Gibbs hadn’t found that yet as she was going to reveal it as a birthday present for him in a few months time. He knew her background, and had known she’d attended catholic school for twelve years, but he hadn’t realised that she had kept her uniform.   
“Nope.”  
Gibbs switched sides as Kate seemed to enjoy the attention she was getting, which there had been a lack of recently what with their recent cases. The childish part of him strongly considered marking his territory just under her ear but decided against it when a thought came to him.  
“The saucy little outfit you were wearing tonight?”  
Kate’s giggling suggested that her decoy outfit had nothing to do with tonight, nor had it anything to do with whatever else she had running through her mind. Gibbs head fell forward to her left shoulder as Kate’s fell back to his right; he was clearly giving up in his guessing game, too soon Kate had noticed, and pulled her closer into him, his hands caressing her stomach.  
“Baby, you’re just gonna have to wait. I may be up to something, I may be up to nothing.”  
As the elevator ride drew to a close, Kate redone a button on her shirt to retain some dignity and the pair resumed their professional masks before stepping out into the hall. They were skilled in starting a conversation, acting as if they were discussing something deep regarding a case and keeping up the front that they were nothing more than boss and subordinate.   
Pausing in their faked conversation to say their goodnights to the security guard, George, they walked out to the car park heading in different directions towards their cars. They had been apart for less than a minute before Gibbs decided it had been long enough and called Kate.  
“Your place or mine?”  
“Yours, Jethro. You do have the bigger bed. I’ll follow you.”  
Giving him a taste of his own medicine, Kate hung up before Gibbs had a chance to respond and waited for him to leave the car park before starting her own engine and following in the same direction.   
It had occurred to Kate, that some aspects of their relationship, to her, felt like she was a mistress. She sometimes felt like she was cheating on someone, although there was no one in her life to cheat on. There wasn’t anyone sincerely significant in their lives apart from each other, but still, Kate couldn’t shake the feeling that she was cheating on someone in her life. 

Kate’s arrival in Gibbs’ driveway occurred five minutes after he’d walked into the house, where he began pacing the hardwood floors. He knew she was up to something, there was definitely a spark in her eyes that suggested it to him, but there was also a spark of something similar to jealousy. If it was jealousy, and she wasn’t going to play nice tonight then he could take the blame for it for not explaining exactly who the red head was. But explaining who she was would mean explaining about Shannon, and Gibbs wasn’t entirely sure he was up to that level of commitment yet. His deliberations were stopped, as much as his heart almost did, when he heard the front door opening and his Katie walking in, her heels clicking melodically across the floor.   
Gibbs sauntered out to the hall and grabbed Kate by the waist before she had a chance to shed her coat. He pushed her against the nearest wall without even trying to seduce her first and began probing her for information as to her plans.  
She was used to Gibbs foregoing the pleasantries when they’d gone without a touch for more than two days, but this was pure want and perhaps a little bit of need, and it was gratifying to know he wanted her this badly when he began tracing her lips with his tongue to which she willingly parted her lips.  
Kate pulled out when her lungs began burning from lack of oxygen, and she leaned back against the wall. Her arms were laying limp by her side and she moved them so they were laying loosely on Gibbs’ hips. There was an uncharacteristic glow in his eyes that was unnerving to Kate, and as she tried questioning him with her eyes he moved his hands under her shirt. She could feel her resistance for him slowly slide and she knew he was trying to distract her from what he was thinking.   
“What?”  
“Just want to know what you’re up to, Katie.”  
“Who says I’m up to anything?”  
“You have a cheeky look about you tonight. You’re up to something, I know it.”  
She wasn’t actually up to anything. She had been thinking in the past few hours and had decided that it was time to elaborate a bit more on her past. It had been bothering her for a few months that although Gibbs knew she was catholic, the case they had been working on at the time had caused him to consider her personal beliefs.  
*~*~*~*~*~*   
…“It’s called being thorough. Hunches do not hold up in court.”  
“It’s not just a hunch. Two people stated that he wasn’t prone to suicide.”  
“Why are you pushing this, Kate?”  
“Because it makes sense. He’s Catholic.”  
“Hmm. And so are you. You cannot let personal situations colour your judgment.”  
“I don’t. but you hired me because of my knowledge and my experience. You’ve never seen how a suicide can tear up a Catholic family. They take it very seriously.”…  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

“Okay, I’ll tell you what I’m up to.”  
Gibbs stepped back a little, drawing space between him and Kate who was still trying to level her breathing. The smug smile plastered on his lips at getting what he wanted soon faded when he realised Kate still had the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Leaning in for another kiss, which once again left them breathless, Kate pulled back and slipped free of Gibbs hold.  
“On one condition.”  
“Which is?”  
“You have to catch me first!”  
Kate used the space between them to her advantage as she took off down the hall towards the kitchen, leaving Gibbs to idly stroll after her. She was trying in vain to delay the inevitable. She knew she wanted to tell him, and why she wanted to tell him, but telling him this probably didn’t come without repercussions. Kate had blamed herself for long enough about it, and who was to say that Gibbs wouldn’t. She knew it was neither her nor her family’s fault that it had happened but Kate was the type of person that if something went majorly wrong in her life, she found a way of taking the blame. 

Gibbs didn’t particularly mind these cat and mouse games with Kate. They’d both played them for long enough, but now when they played there was never any doubt that she would end up in his arms.   
“You’re taking too long, Gunny!”  
Using his former ranking so freely sent shivers down his spine as he jogged the last few steps into the kitchen. He found Kate on the opposite side of the table, jacket and heels discarded, shirt untucked, hair tousled. Her usually immaculate makeup was now delicately smudged which fitted well with her now bee-stung lips due to her recent extra curricular activities in the hall a moment ago. In Gibbs’ opinion, and maybe he was biased, she looked chaotically beautiful.  
“I will catch you, Katie.”  
“You sure?”  
“Oh yeah.”  
Kate made a daring move to run round the right side of the table, but Gibbs was quick to catch onto her scheme. He took a step towards her and as she changed direction to run towards the door, he outstretched his arms and caught her round the waist. Pulling her into him, he turned her round and sat her up on the counter.  
Her arms rested loosely on his shoulders, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck as his hands ran the length of her thighs. Taking a step closer, effectively wedging himself between her knees, she wrapped her legs around him tightly, preventing him from moving without her.  
“So, what is my little Katie up to tonight?”  
“I wanna talk to you about something.”  
“Something?”  
“Yes. But can it wait until after dinner?”  
“Sure.”  
The resolute nod of her head and slightly scared smile suggested this was something extremely serious and sensitive. There wasn’t anything they couldn’t talk about, from past relationships to where they saw themselves in the future, but even Gibbs couldn’t bring himself to talk about his own serious and sensitive subject.  
With the silent affirmation of his pledge to wait, Kate slid herself forward on the counter and pressed a kiss to Gibbs’ forehead before he helped her down and watched as she walked out the kitchen and headed upstairs for a shower and to get changed.  
This was a worrying change in Kate’s behaviour, from playful to serious in a snap of the fingers. Gibbs ran a hand over his face trying to work out what she wanted to talk to him about but decided he wouldn’t over think the multitude of topics and made a start on getting them something to eat.

The tiles were cool against her back, a stark contrast to the hot water she was currently standing under. Why had she decided to enlighten him? To inform him of the biggest, darkest smudge of her personal life? The voice in her head recited it was because she trusted him, which she did. She proved that every day at work when they were faced with challenging situations and now she was planning on trusting him with a little more.   
Kate was an extremely private person, a fact that Tony knew but paid no attention to. She preferred no one knowing about her dates, about her friends and family or anything from her past. But somehow, she was able to tell Gibbs anything, and he was able to get things from her willingly.   
Upon first introductions to him six months ago, she explained to Gibbs after only a few hours of knowing him, though not in specific detail, of her relationship with Major Tim Kerry. By Monday, she also confronted him with the same topic and told him she ended the relationship.   
At the time she cursed her ability and willingness to tell him this, after all, at the time, he was the enemy. Gibbs attitude to this information, and subsequent job offer proved to her that he was indeed trustworthy. Even if he did tell her as a parting shot that if she ever pulled that crap at NCIS, she wouldn’t have the chance to resign.   
Opening up to him about this required a great feat of strength that she’s not sure she possessed, but it proved to her that if she was opening up to him in this way, she trusted Gibbs with more than she realised.   
Allowing the water to meld with and wash away her tears for the last time, Kate stepped out and changed into her red silk pyjama bottoms and black tank top which had NCIS emblazoned in white across the front.   
It had been a sort of welcome present from Abby, which had been received along with a bottle of wine, the showing of Abby’s tattoos, shared tales of acts of rebellion in their teenage years and the lifetime promise of friendship. It was during one of these rare nights off that Abby, in her wise way, persuaded a drunken Kate to get a tattoo, as part of their new friendship clause. The tattoo which caused a great amount of investigation from Tony after Kate had let slip she had one. Yet another of those strange but it’s happening conversations which occurred over the whole investigation.

*~*~*~*~*~*   
“I don’t get the whole tattoo thing.”  
“I’ll add that to the ever-growing list of things you don’t get.”  
“Being stuck with a needle thousands of times for a piece of artwork. No, thank you.”  
“It’s more than just artwork, Tony.”  
“On a woman, maybe.”  
“What?”  
“You know, on a woman? It means she’s up for anything.”  
“Abby’s got tattoos.”  
Tony just laughed and had no comment for Abby’s insatiable need for an inked body.  
“Well, what about me? You think I’m up for anything?”  
“You don’t have a tat.”  
“And if I did, that would just blow your theory to hell now, wouldn’t it?”  
“Okay, say for a minute I believe you’ve got one. Where is it?”  
“Nowhere you will ever see.”  
She thought that would be the end to the conversation, that she’d thrown a nuclear bomb at the topic. It wasn’t until later while they were trying to find the owner of a foot, that Tony brought it up again.  
“Is it on your butt?”  
“I told you, I was kidding.”  
“You only said you were kidding because you were embarrassed you told me.”  
“I don’t have a tattoo.”  
“It’s a butterfly, isn’t it? You seem like a butterfly kind of girl.”  
“Yeah, it’s a butterfly. On my hip.”  
She’d given in relatively easy for Tony to believe what she was telling him. She really was a bad liar at times.  
“It’s not a butterfly, is it?”  
Again she thought it was over with. It wasn’t until later when they were driving back from Harmony that Kate made a mention of Tony having a soft heart for Doctor Chalmers and Tony’s crazy mind instantly came up with the idea that Kate’s tattoo was a heart.  
“We’re back on that again.”  
“I just can’t imagine you getting a tattoo, that’s all.”  
“I was drunk.”  
“I can’t imagine you drunk either. So if it‘s not a heart…”  
“It’s a rose. On my butt. Can we move on now?”  
“Sure.”  
“So are we done with this then?”  
“We are done…Kate, what cheek is it on?”  
The conversation finally came to a close, as did the case, and again Tony brought up the rose tattoo. Gibbs, in his all knowing way, claimed that it wasn’t a rose, but Kate never denied the fact that it wasn’t. She was just more angered at the fact he knew.  
*~*~*~*~*~* 

Throwing her black silk robe over her shoulders, she left the bedroom and headed downstairs where she could smell the distinct scent of shrimp noodles from her favourite Chinese restaurant. As she passed the hall mirror, Kate chuckled ironically as she realised that her nightwear, which consisted mainly of black, portrayed the change her mood had swiftly taken in the past few minutes.   
*~*~*~*~*~*   
Kate remained quite subdued during dinner, which was an unusual sight to behold. She never really was one to hold back, constantly expressing herself through her hands when she spoke, and was forever speaking her mind, especially when something was bothering her. She seemed quite happy to postpone their upcoming conversation for the meantime, and Gibbs went along with this, wanting to wait until she came to him. He himself was deep in thought, having thought about it long and hard while Kate was upstairs. He knew he loved her, and he was positive she loved him for she told him often enough, so taking these next few steps in their relationship would prove to him just as much to her, how big a part of his life she was becoming. Tonight was the night, depending on what she told him first, that he was going to tell her about Shannon.  
They kept with their silence as they cleaned up, made coffee and moved into the living room. She smiled lightly when she moved into Gibbs’ arms on the sofa and he began kissing her neck and stroking her hair. She snuggled closer and his arms tightened around her waist. The strength and security he was providing her with was enough of an incentive to start their conversation.   
“Do you remember that case a few months ago, when Tony bought me that bikini?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Do you remember the conversation we had in the boiler room?”  
“Of course.”  
She took a steadying breath, moving closer to Gibbs and tentatively drawing lazy patterns on his chest. Broaching this subject with Gibbs, with anyone, was a new experience and she wasn’t quite sure how she should go about it.   
“Five years ago, my dad died.”  
“I know. It’s in your file.”  
“Yeah. He had been diagnosed with cancer the year before, he got treated and we thought he was in remission.”  
She paused, trying to find the words. Memories came flooding back to her, as they often did when she allowed them, and she smiled solemnly against Gibbs’ neck. He kissed her head and pushed her hair back from her face as his way of silently telling her to continue.  
“Things were fine and then we learned that it was back, at least twice as bad as before. He made a pact that it wouldn’t beat him, that he’d fight it.”  
“What happened?”  
She stopped again, still not sure why she was telling him this, but it was like a great weight was being lifted from her chest the more she spoke about it. Instead of blocking out the memories and pushing them away, she found it was easier to deal with the sight of her father knowing Gibbs had his arms around her.  
“I found him on the back porch. A half empty bottle of McCallen eighteen on the table, pistol on his lap. The strange thing is, he never owned a gun. Probably wouldn’t know where to buy one. And yet, he hadn’t the courage to go through with it. The pill bottle had fallen on the floor, and it was empty. There were maybe, like, two pills left.”  
“Kate…”  
“That’s why I was so sure Seaman McDonald’s death wasn’t a suicide. Because I know what it’s like. And it didn‘t hurt that I was proved right, either.”  
She chuckled slightly, trying to inject a little humour to deflect the sorrow and had no more words in her. The memories evaporated into nothing and the warmth in her soul grew stronger. She turned her head and pressed a soft kiss against the healing wound the intruder had inflicted on him and slipped her hand between the buttons on his shirt, running it over his chest.  
“For months afterwards, I blamed myself. I kept thinking that if only I had been around more, showed him more support, then he wouldn’t have done it. Even to this day I still feel guilty, because while he was suffering, I was training to be an SS agent, you know. I was here in D.C while my father was falling deeper into a pit of depression. He’d known for a week before he bit the bullet, so to speak. It took a lot of time, and a lot of hits against the punch bag; I know it wasn‘t my fault.”  
She closed her eyes as Gibbs pulled her closer, and rested her head on his chest, just next to his heart. He rested his cheek against her forehead, raising her free hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles.   
“Why’d you tell me this?”  
She chuckled again, this time more like her old self and pulled back to look Gibbs in the eye, to show that she meant what she was saying with no doubt in her heart, body, soul or mind.  
“Because I trust and love you. Implicitly.”  
Gibbs now knew that he wasn’t the only person who had been affected terribly by the death of a loved one, in his case two, and hoped that they’d be able to provide each other with some of the love they’d lost in their lives. Telling her about Shannon and Kelly would have to wait for a while because tonight was enough for painful revelations.   
Kate stretched her legs out and groaned as the tension was released from her muscles after having her knees pulled into her chest for so long.  
“Mmm. I don’t know about you, but I could sleep for a month.”  
“I could go for that, Katie.”  
As she was about to stand, Gibbs caught Kate under the knees and took her into his arms. If she could be really honest, the girly part of her loved being carried like this, it’s one of her secret pleasures. She likes the feeling of being carried in Gibbs’ strong arms and the feeling of being held tightly in them and being cherished and sheltered and cared for. She calls it her fairytale princess lift, and Gibbs does it more often than she would have associated him with before she started dating him.  
“Prince Charming tonight, huh?”  
“Well…you are my princess.”  
“Princess Katie? I like that.”   
*~*~*~*~*~*   
Kate cursed at the loud, discordant buzzing of the digital alarm clock on the nightstand. She should have really considered turning it off the night before, knowing that this was her weekend off. The mid-morning sun shone through the front windows which overlooked the front yard, spreading the light into beams around the room. Kate groped blindly in a sleep like haze for the clock with one hand as the other pushed her up into a sitting position on the bed. Finally, she managed to cease the antagonizing buzz and placed the clock back in its original position.  
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she focused them on her surroundings. They moved to the chair in the corner of the room, just by the bathroom door, which was covered in her shirts and pants, a freshly pressed suit on a hanger over the door of the wardrobe. The dresser had several framed sketches of hers on top, along with varying bottles of perfume and creams. The bedroom which once had the aroma of sawdust, which she found extremely sexy, now had the distinct floral and spicy aroma of her perfumes. She hadn’t quite realised just how much she had taken over Gibbs’ house, but found she was strangely proud of it. 

Kate had never opened herself up to a man as much as she had to Gibbs. Never allowed them to keep a change of clothes at her apartment. Never allowed herself to believe the endearments of love that fell from their lips; normally in the throes of passion. Never fully trusted them and occasionally considered running background checks. Never allowed herself to become so emotionally attached to one man, as it normally ended in a harsh break up anyway.   
Not that in recent years she’d actually had the chance at a real love life. Her commitment to her job was something that the rare man who found his way into her life, and bed, couldn’t understand; always believing that her supposed late working hours were the excuse and result of having an affair with someone she worked with.   
It’s not that she was promiscuous, much. She enjoyed the game of casual sex, but it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. The majority of the time she was left disappointed with whom she had chosen to try and pursue a relationship with. She had very high standards when it came to the men she dated, although some of her past relations she couldn’t actually bear thinking about.   
She considered and reconsidered every eventuality of taking the next step with who she was dating, and if what she considered she didn’t like, she simply didn’t sleep with them. That part of her was kept for someone who actually thought about and respected her and considered her needs and the fact that she kept a hectic work life which would always come before one or more dates.  
The last man she allowed in her bed, Tim, had no choice but to accept the conditions of their affair, seeing as the majority of the time they were working on the same shift. Occasionally, they would find themselves in the same country, but always made sure never to mix pleasure with business, especially when it involved the protection of the president. That had been why she ended it with him. She had slowly began reanalysing things and decided that the president’s life was far more important than her own sex life.  
After him there been a scarce amount of dates her way, before Marcy introduced her to Phillip Burns. He was a highly respected surgeon, a friend of Marcy’s friends sister’s cousin. They arranged, in between their chaotic work schedules, a date but he’d had to cancel due to work. From then there had been no one until March.  
She’d been relatively flighty with any men she encountered, almost the same in college during her freshman and sophomore years, although that was a more free time for her, being a female version of DiNozzo. Moving from one guy to the next in the blink of an eye, constantly looking for some fun.   
By the time she was a senior she’d grown out of it, having expelled her bad girl side in an abundance of ways. One of those ways occurred during her junior year involving three pitchers, two of water, one of tequila, Spring Break in Panama City, and the drunken idea to participate in a wet t-shirt contest. In her bleary eyed hangover condition the next morning she discovered she’d won the contest and had been labelled Miss Wet T-Shirt Ninety Four.   
She became more guarded the older she got, protecting her heart from men she knew would break it into smithereens in an instant. Of the few guys she’d had serious intentions with, they told her everything she wanted to hear just so they could get what they wanted from her, before leaving her alone and trying to find super strength glue to mend her heart.  
Now she was fast approaching her thirties and possibly looking for a man to settle down and spend eternity with. She knew she’d eventually like to settle down, once she’d gotten over the first initial thrill of owning a Sig Sauer and a Smith and Wesson, have kids and eventually leave whatever agency she was with.   
Her biological clock was going to start ticking soon and she wanted to make sure that the man she was with when it did was reliable and wouldn’t walk out on her when the stick turned blue. Gibbs, with all his hard ass Marine tendencies, was possibly this man.  
With Gibbs, it was almost as if they were on the same level of emotion and understanding and this was of great comfort to her. If six months down the line she discovered that things weren’t working out the way they had both hoped, she knew it would take her more than a week to recover from the possible heartbreak she was setting herself up for. She didn’t dwell on the possibilities that lay ahead of them for long, preferring to work on the present; taking one day at a time and not talking about the future. 

She knew Gibbs, being the extremely early riser that he was, was probably downstairs on his fourth coffee by now. And knowing the length of time it took her to wake up in the mornings, would make it to at least his eighth by the time she made it into the kitchen.  
She put her bare feet onto the soft carpet, stood up and stretched; one hand reaching behind her head to her opposite shoulder, and the other pushing up the hem of her cotton tank top to above her bellybutton and pulling it down again. She was finally on her way to becoming a regular human being after a night basked in warmth and restful sleep.  
Kate made her way to the en suite, the changing texture of soft blue carpet to cold white tiles giving an added wake up call, and decided to forgo her morning shower in exchange for seeing Gibbs sooner.  
Lukewarm water fell into her cupped hands, and then rolled down her face before dripping into the round porcelain sink. Patting her face dry, she grabbed the amber coloured toothbrush which had recently taken up residence in the holder next to Gibbs’ marine green one.   
With her morning routine coming to a close, after almost an hour, Kate left the bathroom and made her way downstairs, grabbing the black robe on the way. Despite her attempts at a refreshing and zesty wake up call, she was still half asleep when she reached the kitchen. Tony had once made a comment about the walking dead after a red eye to Colombia, and had promptly been slapped upside the head by Gibbs and elbowed in the ribs by Kate. There was no such mention of the walking dead after that.   
By twelve, Gibbs was standing by the coffee machine anticipating her arrival. When he heard her groan in the hall by means of a good morning, he simply picked the mug up and held it out to her. She took the mug carefully and squeezed herself between Gibbs and the counter just to murmur ‘thank you’ and ‘coffee’ against his lips.  
Separating, Kate licked her lips and tasted the residue from the coffee that Gibbs had been drinking before she came in. She silently and groggily made her way to the table and picked up the morning paper, which seemed pretty redundant as she was now in the afternoon, while Gibbs took his own mug and joined her. They sat in companionable silence, each enjoying the beginnings of their day off together, and each hoping there wouldn’t be an overload of cases and have to be called in.  
It was almost an hour before Gibbs chose to breach the silence after watching Kate drink another cup of coffee. He loved watching her when she wasn’t aware or at least when he thought she wasn‘t aware.   
The way her eyebrows rose up when she found something amusing or shocking, the way they creased together when she was angry or confused. The way she nibbled on her bottom lip when she was deep in thought, or worried that she’d overstepped the boundaries which he always seemed to stretch for her. When she was really pissed, she would stick her chin out and pout a little, and Gibbs, quite frankly, found it adorable.   
He loved things about her that she wasn’t even aware of herself, like how she expressed herself through her hands and the way her eyes became enflamed when she was talking passionately about something, the way she rubbed the spot just under her left ear with her thumb when she was stressed or tired.   
Things that happened when she slept. Whether it was because of what happened during the day or if it were her dreams he would never know, but Gibbs could count the number of times Kate muttered random words and phrases in her sleep on both hands twice.  
She’d given him a reason last night for why she was so hardened when it came to certain subjects and felt she deserved to know his. He had almost given up on love after Shannon, and had tried and failed three times to recreate the life he had with her with other women. He wasn’t going to do that this time. He wasn’t going to try and pretend Kate was someone she wasn’t. What he felt for Shannon still boiled in his belly, and though he had actually given up on finding someone who could evoke those same feelings with the same amount of strength, he eventually found it in Kate Todd.  
He didn’t believe in the afterlife much or in reincarnation, but if he had to trust what his gut said and what he was witnessing and participating in, he’d say without a doubt, Caitlin Todd was the reincarnation of Shannon Marie Gibbs.  
“You were right when you said I had four wives.”  
Kate looked up from the paper, a little stunned. When it came to her haphazard guess at the amount of times Gibbs had been married, he’d claimed she was wrong and said he only had three. To actually find she’d been right all along was a little shocking.  
“I was?”  
“Yes. Shannon. A red head. I married her in eighty-two, our daughter, Kelly, was born in eight-four.”  
Gibbs silently slid a worn photo across the table and Kate picked it up gently. She smiled at the image before her; a young girl, Kelly, on a bike with a bright smile, while Gibbs and Shannon stood behind her making sure she didn’t fall off. She could tell that these were happier times for Gibbs, as his face didn’t hold quite as much worry or tension. And he was laughing at the camera. Kate was slowly beginning to understand why Gibbs tended to shy away from commitment, and basically why he was the way he was.  
“She’s gorgeous; they both are. Kelly looks like you.”  
“I agree. It was Shannon’s eyes, she had the most amazing eyes. Bright green. They always looked best when she was smiling or when she was angry. Especially when she was angry, there was this eruption of fireworks and it was so fascinating to watch. Just like yours. The anger makes the fire in your soul burn and it shows through your eyes. That‘s why I love pissing you off.”  
Kate smiled, still stunned with what she was hearing, and reached across the table to link her hand with Gibbs’, who seemed to be struggling slightly to tell her this. It was expected, of course, as Kate thought seeing it was his first divorce which had involved a child. Squeezing his fingers, letting him know she was there for him, he continued telling her what his heart had kept bottled up for the past thirteen years.  
“I was in Desert Storm. I never found any of this out till I got back, but, Shannon witnessed the shooting of a Marine. She identified the killer as a Mexican drug dealer working at Camp Pendleton, Pedro Hernandez. She and Kelly were assigned an NIS protection agent, but a sniper shot him while he was driving the van they were in. He died instantly.”  
Gibbs stopped, very much like Kate had the night before, as he remembered sitting with his own gun and was very tempted to use it. He looked across the table to find that not only was Kate feeling the pain of what he was telling her, but that she understood what he had felt and was still feeling. He beckoned her, hesitantly, to come to him and she went willingly into his open arms, sitting sideways on his lap.  
Kate knew what was coming next; she could see it in his eyes and the way he held onto her. She knew the real reason behind his hard ass ways and wanted badly to soothe his aching heart. If he’d let her and she’d let him then who knows how far they could go together.  
“Shannon and Kelly were…both killed in the crash. Kelly would‘ve been eight that year.”  
His voice quietened and wavered towards the end as his head fell to Kate’s shoulder. She would hold him for as long as he needed holding and wait for as long as he needed the silence.   
He was close enough to her for a compassionate gesture which came in the form of running her hands through his hair, keeping him close to her. She paused in her ministrations when she felt a tear soak through her robe. Moving so his head rested more comfortably on her shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his neck.  
“I’m guessing you got him.”  
“What makes you think I went after him?”  
Her brow creased and she sighed at his feeble attempts of putting her off the scent and she moved her hands to his temples and moved him back to look at her. Her expression softened when she seen his eyes were glazed with tears, and it scared her to think that he was capable of such strong emotions. She smiled softly at him, her hands running through his hair again before coming to rest on his cheeks.  
“Because this was your family, and your family is important to you Jethro. I believe that both then and now, you pursue anyone who causes or even suggests harm to your family, and you will go to hell and back to make sure you get revenge for it.”  
“You know me too well.”  
She smiled ruefully and giggled in the same manner. She happily stayed where she was, concern still etched on her face. He openly allowed her to read his eyes, and it didn’t take her long to see the pain and his own concern for her in them.   
Recently, they’d perfected their ability to silently converse with their eyes, through a mixture of eyebrow raising and twitching. When Gibbs asked if she was okay through creasing his brows, Kate’s eyes smiled, telling him she was fine. It was a process that had taken them only weeks to grow into and it was better knowing Tony didn’t know what was being said between them about him.  
“Thank you.”  
“For what?”  
“For trusting me. I won’t tell anyone.”  
“I know. And to answer your question about last night; she‘s Shannon‘s sister.”  
Kate suddenly felt guilty and embarrassed about her misconception and her jealousy, and Gibbs let her know that it was fine by kissing her nose. There was an inscrutable expression on his face before he broke out in a smirk. For the second time in as many days, he caught her under the knees and stood from the chair with her, carrying her in her beloved princess lift.   
He moved them through to the living room and set her down on the sofa. He disappeared and came back a moment later with his hands behind his back. He came and crouched down before her and for a moment her heart stopped. He must’ve seen the shock on her face because he simply laughed and revealed three DVD’s for her.   
Kate exhaled the breath she didn’t know she was holding and bowed her head, embarrassed. Choosing her film, Air Force One, she moved over so Gibbs could join her before curling into his side. They were both content to have the film on as distraction while they reminisced about their first meeting.  
They stayed where they were all day, one or the other moving for coffee or to get a different film. It wasn’t until the credits were rolling on Bounce, which Kate had said Gibbs should see after she mentioned it to him on their fifth case together, that either spoke for the first time in almost seven hours.   
“Move in.”  
“In case you haven’t noticed over the past eight weeks, Jethro, I already have.”  
“Not completely. You don’t have all your clothes here yet.”  
“Well, what do you suggest I do with my furniture?”  
Gibbs thought about this for a while, trying to work out if he had enough space in his house to accommodate all her belongings. Deciding that he did, he voiced his opinion.  
“Well, your couch is comfier than mine. And half the rooms upstairs are empty. There you go, your beds can make up two spare rooms.”  
“Okay…”  
Kate watched Gibbs and saw he was deadly serious about his decision to move her in. There were a million and one things she would have to do before she could even step one foot back into Gibbs’ house.   
First she’d have to inform her landlord she was moving, pay any final bills. Not to mention changing her information at work, her medical records. Telling her mother she was moving in with her boyfriend and the fact that she had a boyfriend, that she was in a serious relationship, would have to be her first priority.  
“You’re serious.”  
“The most serious I have been in a long time, Katie.”  
In lieu of answering, Kate moved so her knees were resting either side of Gibbs’ hips and smiled, revealing the seductive temptress she coolly hid beneath her mask of professionalism at work. It reassured Gibbs greatly to know that she only reserved this smile for him but was well aware that he, as well as many others at work, had seen a multitude of her smiles and he loved them all.  
His first encounter with her revealed to him the ’I don’t think so’ and the ’I know you’re lying’ smiles. In passing, he’d also witnessed the ’I get what you’re saying’ but had missed the nostalgic ’you called me Katie’ smile as he walked away from her on AFO. He’d also seen the ’I done good’, ’I don’t believe you’, ’don’t mess with me today’, and ’I got one on Tony’ smiles in great abundance since her arrival at NCIS.  
Naturally he had his favourites, like ‘you’re a bastard’ and ‘I know more than you think’ but no smile compared to the one she was showing him; it was the smile that simply said ‘I want you now’. Gibbs, despite not being known as a gentleman, was not one to keep a lady waiting.  
It was close to midnight by the time they finally made it upstairs to bed, after Gibbs had thoroughly and amorously ravished Kate several times. There were enough brain cells left between them to make the transition upstairs smoothly, and a few more that actually led them to bed.  
Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, Kate was fast asleep, but she was able to remain awake long enough to feel Gibbs crawl in beside her and pull the covers over them. His arm came to lay over her waist and he pulled her into him, her back laying against his chest.   
She turned so that his right hand was across her back and his left arm was under her neck. Moving closer, she buried her head slightly in his neck and slid a leg between his, feeling his heartbeat in his chest bouncing off her own. There was enough strength left in her to ask a question that she had been keen to know the answer to since he’d asked her to move in.  
“When do you want me in by?”  
He groaned into the soft brunette hair that was laying just below his chin, deep and contemplatively, he considered the days and considered the possibility they may have a case thrown their way in the next week or so. It would be nice to have her permanently in his bed by tomorrow evening, but there was too much to do and it couldn’t all be done in twenty four hours.   
If they took the advantage and the presumption of getting off work at a reasonable time, they could get quite a lot done over the next few days. As it were, he settled for the perfect day. Friday.   
“End of the week.”

By Sunday morning, both Kate and Gibbs felt connected to each other more than before because now they understood each other. They’d spoken about things that had haunted their hearts, which now felt lighter and ready for what the other could offer.   
Kate was more awake and coherent than the previous morning and decided it was high time she started a new morning routine. She’d spent the last half hour watching Gibbs as he slept, her hand running through his hair which was just begging to be touched. He looked so sexy and rugged when he was unshaven with mussed hair.  
In her new ritualistic ministrations, Kate had failed to notice the ice blue eyes watching her, or feel the fingers that were flexing slowly against her back. The coffee pot was calling her name loudly from downstairs and she made a move to leave the bed to the bathroom to freshen up a little, but the strong arm that pulled her back and held her down firmly against the mattress had other ideas.  
Fingers began passing over her skin, lips trailing delicate kisses down her neck, ribcage and over her stomach. She watched him leave his mark on her hip just as his eyes came up to meet hers; smiling eyes.  
“Now you can get up.”  
“You are a tease, Jethro Gibbs.”  
“But you love it.”  
She smiled back at him, arching her back as her hands pushed their way under the pillows behind her head, and released a contented purr as she felt her vertebrae click and the crack as her shoulders relaxed into their sockets. This was definitely the way to start every morning.


	7. Crazy, But It\'s True

Crazy, But It’s True  
It’s not in the way that you hold me  
It’s not in the way you say you care  
It’s not in the way you’ve been treating my friends  
It’s not in the way that you stay till the end  
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you do

Every ‘strange but it’s happening’ conversation Kate had ever had with Tony, seemed to have merged to form their cases over the past few weeks. The strangest thing she ever had to deal with was the mummified remains of a naval officer who’d been missing for five years and was eventually stumbled upon by a deer hunter in an aircraft drop tank from and Tomcat in Maryland State Park.  
This event had been topped by the alien found in the ceiling of a basement which had actually been a Petty Officer playing a prank only to have it backfire on him and end up dead. Things were definitely more interesting at NCIS, Kate had finally decided. It was also decided, that after tonight’s events specifically, Tony had made it his personal mission to cross all boundaries that defied normality and sanity.  
They had been working non-stop for two days, catching up on various paperwork. Kate had made plans with a friend from college who was passing through town for a few days, Tony had made plans with his couch and TV remote. Gibbs had made plans to work his team to the ground.  
When the call came in that afternoon, Director Morrow had immediately put his best team on the job. Special Agent Christopher Pacci had been murdered in cold blood, and Gibbs was feeling guilt over it. It had only been a few weeks before, when they were chasing Curtin, that Pacci had asked for Gibbs’ help on cold case but had said it could wait one more day for his assistance.   
After some investigating, they discovered Pacci had been following a red head named Amanda Reed, who seemed to know Commander Voss; the person whom their investigation surrounded. Having died in a car crash, they wanted to find out where the money he’d stolen was. Splitting his team into two, Gibbs rented out the apartment opposite Amanda’s townhouse so they could continue their surveillance. Since he opted to place McGee with Tony, he had Kate by his side. It wasn’t long before Tony had taken the chance to speak to Amanda Reed and subsequently ended up going on a date with her, not knowing that she was in fact a pre-op trans-sexual. Amanda was in actual fact Commander Voss.  
And this is where they were now. Back in the squadroom reliving the events from the past hour. Kate stood at the partition between her desk and Pacci’s as she watched Gibbs go through Pacci’s desk. She’d been worried about him since they’d been assigned this case and there was clear evidence she needed to be. It hadn’t been long since the terrorist infiltrated their building, taking Kate, Ducky and Gerald hostage and Gibbs was still hell bent on identifying the man.   
“Why are you going through everything before you box it?”  
“Force of habit. I don’t want his family getting an unpleasant surprise.”  
Kate sighed as she continued to watch him put some of his personal demons to rest; knowing his greatest fear was losing one of his own team. Losing her. She was only half listening to the conversation that was happening behind her between Abby, McGee and Tony.   
“That reminds me of The Crying Game.”  
“Don’t know it.”  
Tony was sat at his desk, eating aspirin like they were MnM’s while holding a now melted ice pack to the back of his head. He knew his little incident would go down in history and would never be forgotten, but he really wished that Abby and McGee weren’t sitting there talking about movies that reminded them of his encounter.  
“Abby, could you pick some other movie, please?”  
“Oh, um…Victor, Victoria.”  
“That was a girl, pretending to be a guy, pretending to be a girl.”  
“Right.”  
Abby smirked while Tony contemplated the movie reference, which he usually made many of.  
“Yeah, that one’s okay.”  
“You gotta hand it to Commander Voss. In three years he hid in plain sight as a woman.”  
Kate waited at the partition until he stood from the desk and walked by her and she put a comforting hand on his back, knowing that the rest of the team wouldn’t notice as they were too busy laughing at Tony’s expense before she joined in the conversation.  
“Well, he wasn’t a woman yet. The surgery was scheduled for next month in Bangkok.”  
“Getting your plumbing turned outside in is so…”  
“Hinky?”  
“No, no. Way beyond hinky. It’s…”  
Seeing an opportunity to annoy Tony, and seeing that she needed a moment with Gibbs alone, Kate jumped on it.  
“Speaking of way beyond hinky, Tony.”  
“Okay. All right, give it to me, Kate. I can take it.”  
She stalked towards his desk like a cat after cream and leaned forward so she was in his direct line of sight before she questioned him.  
“What was it like…tonguing a guy?”  
The smirk on her lips told Tony she was seriously enjoying this moment and decided to forego his initial instinct of walking away, instead he remained sitting, holding her stare with his. It wasn’t long before he succumbed to his embarrassment and letting the ice pack slip from his head stood.  
“Forget it. I can’t take it.”  
He picked up his backpack and stormed out the bullpen, grumbling something about needing a drink, leaving only Kate, Abby and McGee to laugh at his misfortune. Kate laughed as she began gathering up her belongings. She was going to do the usual, go home, and eat Chinese alone as Gibbs would probably wait at the office, when a voice from the other side of the room piped up.  
“Hey, Kate. You wanna grab a drink? It’s karaoke night.”  
“Sure. Why not. Meet you guys down there in ten?”  
“Sure thing. See you later. Bye Gibbs.”  
Kate slowly packed up her remaining items as McGee and Abby left. She hadn’t got the chance to get Gibbs on his own. When she had, it definitely hadn’t been the right moment to speak to him. Walking round to his desk, she knelt beside him and placed a hand on his arm.  
“You okay, babe?”  
“Yeah. We could’ve lost him.”  
“Could have, but never did. More the point we never will, although sometimes I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. He’s a good agent, just made a mistake. Listen, do you want to come out with us tonight?”  
“No. I’m really not in the mood.”  
Kate got up and stood behind him. Wrapping her arms round his neck, she placed her chin against his temple and smelt the sawdust and coffee aroma that she’d grown to love over the past year.  
“You smell really good.”  
“Well, so do you Miss Todd. You go, have fun.”  
“No. It wouldn’t feel right.”  
“I insist.”  
Kate knew better than to disobey a direct order from Gibbs, who was now also her better half. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her keys and dangled them in front of Gibbs, knowing he had forgotten his that morning. Locking his front door was a habit he’d quickly instilled in himself since the day she’d moved in.  
“Go home. I’ll be home shortly. Not really in the mood to wait out.”  
“You sure?”  
“Yep. I’ll pick up some dinner on the way home.”  
“Sounds good.”  
“If you change your mind, you know where we’ll be.”  
“Evissa. I know.”  
Taking the keys, Gibbs turned the chair around so he was facing Kate. She bent down to kiss him before heading towards the elevator. Gibbs smiled at her retreating form. For a while there, he thought he’d been out of luck, that Tony had already swept in and claimed her as his. But that night at her flat, when he made his dreams come true by telling him Tony didn’t stand a chance, he knew he loved her even more.  
Grabbing his gear, he headed in the same direction Kate had gone only a few minutes before. He was just as surprised as Kate that they’d been able to keep their ever-growing relationship under wraps. The mysterious red head still occasionally picked Gibbs up and Kate still had gentlemen calling her. No one in the building knew that the red head was Gibbs’ ex-sister in law, Carole or that the guys who were calling Kate were her brothers and friends from the Secret Service.  
By the time Gibbs had reached the front door, he had changed his mind and decided that he would rather be in the company of his family than wait at home for his beautiful other half to return. The past couple of weeks meant they were spending less time with each other and Gibbs wanted to put an end to it. Getting back in the still warm car, he drove down the road, back into town heading straight for Evissa.  
In the bar, Kate was moping. She missed being around Gibbs so much it hurt. Just as she finished her scotch and placed the glass on the table, she smelt her favourite person walk through the door and stand behind her.  
“Where’s everyone else?”  
“Dancing. You changed your mind.”  
“I didn’t want to be in an empty house when I could be sat here in the company of a perfectly gorgeous woman.”  
“Oh, you found her then?  
“Yep.”  
Gibbs didn’t care at this moment if his team saw him kiss Kate. She was the love of his life and he wanted to show it to the world. They’d missed each other so much, that they desperately wanted the closeness back between them. Placing his hands on either side of her face, he kissed her deeply before laying his forehead against hers and looking in her eyes.  
“Missed you much.”  
“Missed you much too.”  
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in for another kiss when she heard Abby’s distinct high-pitched squealing over the music and the person trying to sing a long with the words on stage.  
“OH MY GOD!!!! Tony! McGee! Look at this.”  
It wasn’t long before Abby, Tony and McGee were back at the table, staring questionably at the duo in front of them.  
“Something we can help you with?”  
No one said a word until a light bulb went off in Abby’s head.  
“Oh my god. That’s why I couldn’t come over last night, isn’t it? Katie Todd, are you banging the boss?”  
Kate didn’t deny the fact that yes, she was sleeping with Gibbs, and she wasn’t slow in answering Abby’s question either.  
“That’s one of the reasons you couldn’t come over last night. And to answer the other question; yes. As a matter of fact, I am. There a problem?”  
“No. No, not at all. When?”  
“That is a question neither of us are willing to answer. You may take pride in divulging every detail of your sex life, Tony, but we don’t.”  
Everyone laughed as Tony realised he’d worded his question the completely wrong way.  
“Since March. After the whole autopsy debacle.”  
It appeared that everyone was doing the math in their head and eventually they all came up with the same response.  
“How did we not know? And what was the other reason I couldn’t come over? Kate, I’m your best friend…”  
“Abbs, I know. We just wanted to see if we would, I don’t know, fit well in a relationship together. A working relationship, yes. Personal involvement, we had to be sure we were both heading in the same direction before telling anyone. And the other reason is because I‘m sub-letting my apartment. Have been for the past…I don’t know, month.”  
The gang nodded, understanding what Kate meant. Excusing herself to go to the bathroom, Kate thought it best that she left so Tony could give Gibbs the over protective big brother talk that she’d been expecting from him.  
“Gibbs, I gotta say it. If you ever hurt her, in any way, shape or form…”  
McGee and Abby nodded in agreement, while Gibbs felt backed into a corner.  
“When have you ever known me to do anything that would hurt or upset Kate? Guys, the only person we need to worry about hurting her is that bastard.”  
The gang looked ill, as they all knew which bastard Gibbs was talking about. The terrorist that held Kate, Ducky and Gerald hostage in autopsy three months earlier.   
When Kate returned from the bathroom, she noticed that her team were unusually quiet and she decided that she would spice things up. Walking to the DJ’s booth, she flipped through the tracks book until she found what she was looking for. Se put her request in with the DJ and headed back to her table, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Gibbs watched her intensely, wondering what she was up to, but didn’t have to wonder when the first few lyrics of the song floated through the speakers.   
The song that had played in Kate’s apartment the night they got together was slowly washing over the team and they all turned to look at Kate, wondering why she had requested such a song. She said nothing, and kept smiling as she leant into Gibbs who was smiling like a maniac. Slowly, the team turned to look at him, never seeing a smile so bright radiating from their boss’ face before and all immediately wondered what the hell was with them. When no one could come to an obvious conclusion regarding the song, Abby finally broke the silence and asked what was with the smiles.  
“That’s our song.”  
There were raised eyebrows from three people at the table. Smiling at each other, they once again came to the same conclusion. It’s more than serious.


	8. Gone

Gone  
Some sunny day baby  
When everything seems okay baby  
You’ll wake up and find that you’re alone  
Cause I’ll be gone, gone, gone, gone  
Really gone, gone, gone, gone

His heart beats faster in his chest as he boards the elevator down to autopsy. He doesn’t want to believe what Ducky has told him over the phone, that he has a special case for him. A heart breaking case for him. He should’ve been more careful, more paranoid than he usually is. How could he be so careless?  
When he arrives at autopsy, he sees the bag lying on the table still zipped up. Ducky is standing in the corner, his green overalls wrinkled, fresh tears marring his face. He watches as Ducky exhales a shuddering breath and bows his head. He can feel the fear in his stomach and knows it’s clearly expressed on his own face.  
He takes five unsteady steps towards the table, his hands are shaking as he reaches out to open the bag, knowing what he finds inside will kill him. He’ll blame himself for as long as it takes to find him. Then no doubt he’ll blame the FBI, Tobias Fornell specifically. He looks back towards Ducky, seeking reassurance, but the man simply continues to bow his head, clearly heartbroken.   
The sound of the zipper is like a shotgun echoing around the room and he peels back the black PVC covering. It’s not true. It can’t be true. He only seen her this morning. Laughing with him over breakfast.   
He carefully removes the clear PVC sheet wrapped around the body and there before him is the face of his beautiful, smart Kate.   
Her face is deathly pale in comparison to her usual vibrant colouring.   
Her usual warm brown eyes are open, but are cold and empty.   
Dead.   
There’s no sign of pain on her face, no shock or worry and he knows she died instantly. Then again, a bullet through the head will do that.  
He hears movement behind him and turns slightly. In the corner, replacing Ducky, is the one that got away. His eyes are bright and laughing at him. Mocking him. Laughing at his heartbreak. Eyes that are full of hate.   
He will kill him.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
He hears new voices; familiar voices. They rouse him from his sleep and as he opens his eyes he sees Abby and McGee standing over him. He doesn’t want to see Abby and McGee, he wants to see Kate. He seen her this morning, asleep in bed before he left to get a new start on tracking her captor from two months ago. They all know Gibbs won’t rest until he finds that man and kills him.   
He listens half-heartedly to what McGee is telling him, something about a program to find that man that seems to have broken back into their lives.   
He wants to get out of the building and find his Kate, touch her and hold her and reassure himself that she’s alive and with him. He grants McGee the hall pass he needs to stay in D.C. and leaves the two. He has to leave. He has to see her.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kate Todd stands fourth in the cue at D.C. Beans waiting to order. She’s not paying attention to the news, more to the people around her. If anything all her training has taught her to be aware and so her gaze is constantly scanning the faces of those around her. When she had woken that morning, she was rather disappointed not to find herself safely ensconced in the arms of her boyfriend, but was instead alone in bed. His night had been disturbed, by what he wouldn’t tell her.   
The man in front tries and fails to start up a conversation with her. He seems to believe that they work at the same NCIS agency, which Kate is slightly taken aback at. How many NCIS’s can there be in the world she thinks as he talks to her about actuarial analysis.   
“What NCIS do you think I’m with?”  
Her voice is light and her tone is that of disbelief, still wondering what hail and storm damage has to do with terrorists and dead naval officers. Her question is soon answered when the young man, she believes to be called John, tells her he’s with the National Crop Insurance Service. She feels the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stand on end, and knows the man she’s been longing to see is somewhere close by, but changes her mind when she realises the front door is wide open allowing the summer breeze to blow in.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
From outside, Gibbs watches the patrons of the coffee house, trying to find one in particular. He spies her brunette hair through the crowd easily. The white skirt suit she’s wearing is tasteful, and suits her. Declaring her femininity but remaining professional. He’s yet unsure if this is the petite brunette agent his heart is longing for him to find but his fears are instantly set aside when he hears her voice above the bustling crowds. He smirks slightly and enters, doing his best to stay out of her line of sight. He watches as her shoulders tense slightly, a keen sign that she knows he’s here and waits patiently for a chance to jump into the conversation she’s having.   
“National Crop Insurance Service.”  
Spying his chance, Gibbs manoeuvred easily with the two coffee cups through the crowds towards her, brushing past her shoulder and dropping his own sentence into her conversation.  
“That’s us. Oh, yeah. She’s a whiz on how corn loses affect the pork belly futures.”  
She turns quickly as he passes and her eyes follow his every move before returning her attention to the young man from the agricultural department, bidding a swift goodbye.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The man at the table watched with the same intrigue that shone in Kate’s eyes as she walked towards him. He knew she had an overly curious nature, and gloried in the opportunity to make her stumble or blush. If there was one thing in the world that people found hard, it was making Caitlin Todd stumble over her words. Hard for anyone, except Gibbs. He knew just the right way to get her hot under the collar, or completely forget what she was saying and loved doing it to her when he had a chance.   
There was a new look surrounding her now; she was going to defy him, although still not knowing what he was suggesting or offering, she was going to try and defy any kind of authority he brought to her morning place of caffeine sanctuary. He knew it and she knew and she did it, and done so by standing in front of him, refusing to sit and accept the coffee he’d bought for her, possibly as a pre-empted peace offering. He kicked the chair out, wanting her to sit even though he knew she’d wait and try to make him nervous, but she slid the tan bag from her shoulder none the less.  
“How corn loses affect pork belly futures?”  
The raised eyebrow, a glaringly obvious sign of her disbelief, together with her tone of voice made Gibbs love this woman even more. But didn’t know whether she was suspicious of him or of his actions and whether or not to be proud of her for that.  
“Rule number seven. Always be specific when you lie.”  
Kate smirked uncharacteristically, an almost carbon copy of his own, as she sat down and stared at the coffee cup in front of her. She pouted slightly and couldn’t help the small smile that crept over her lips. A new rule for my pillows, she thought.  
“Why are you bringing me coffee from your caffeine dealer two blocks away? And don’t use rule seven.”  
“You want that or not?”  
Kate pondered for a moment, the smile of intrigue still firmly planted on her lips. In the year she’d worked with Gibbs, and since she’d been dating him he’d never once bought her coffee. Stealing a mouthful of hers, however, he’d done.   
“I take my coffee with milk and sweetener.”   
It was a matter of fact statement, that Gibbs knew, seeing as he had been making her morning coffee on a regular basis for the past two months. He had tried weaning her off the sickly sweet way she took her caffeine onto the way he took hers, but he was forever failing in his attempts.  
“Taste it.”  
He watched her over the rim of his own cup which he’d raised to his lips, she followed after a brief moment of amused consternation. He kept his eyes on her as she tilted her head back giving him a perfect view of her ivory neck; the same ivory neck he loved kissing. He choked back a laugh when she paused, the coffee having reached her taste buds and grimaced at the bitter after taste.  
“It’s a little strong.”  
“Strong’s better.”  
Kate smiled shyly, while concealing a full blown laughing smile at one of Gibbs’ many convictions. He held her eyes and she was determined not to break the eye contact; out of the few people Gibbs had met and worked with over the years, she was the one who was able to out stare him and never backed down when faced with even his most terrifying glare.   
She tapped her nails together under the table in a nervous reaction to the silence that surrounded them and the inability to look away from the ocean blue eyes that stared deep into her soul. With a heavy sigh, Kate finally backed down, still holding his eyes and tried to find out what was happening.  
“Gibbs, you’re making me nervous. Scary scenarios are popping into my head. Like, you’re here to fire me or to tell me that I’m going undercover…as DiNozzo’s wife.”  
“I want you to profile a terrorist.”  
“What terrorist?”  
The confusion that passed her face had been expected. There hadn’t been any recent cases involving or related to terrorists and the only terrorist they had encountered this year they referred to as ’that bastard’, ’the terrorist’ or ’him’. They had talked briefly about that night in autopsy, along with Ducky and Gerald on several occasions. Never once had Kate mentioned her attempt at taking a dissecting knife to the intruder’s throat to stab him.   
It was one of the many times while Kate had been busy on another case, Gibbs had a meeting with Ducky, wanting to know if the older man could remember anything about the man that would make their search for him easier. It was a horrible feeling to learn that one of your best agents, your prodigy, had made a botched attempt at a life saving manoeuvre.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
They had actually been discussing the many new assistants that had traipsed in through the autopsy doors, and how useless they had seemed. Ducky proceeded to speak of Gerald, and how calm he had been throughout the whole situation. Even Gibbs mentioned his calm exterior when he was shooting over his body at the terrorist, saying that he wouldn‘t leave with the EMT‘s until he made sure that Ducky and Kate were safe.  
Ducky had noticed, that on the night in question, Kate herself, despite being known to be calm under pressure, was becoming slightly desperate. Although, it was hard not to miss, especially when it was his tools she was using in her attack. Gibbs had noticed, of course, the look of pain and worry on Ducky’s face, and pushed him for an explanation.  
“Well, Kate was becoming rather desperate. I don’t know whether I should be glad she didn’t or scared that she couldn’t.”  
“Couldn’t what, Duck?”  
“She picked up one of my dissecting knives and intended on stabbing that bastard.”  
“But?”  
“She hesitated.”  
They both should have felt safe in the knowledge that Kate was trained in unarmed combat, was skilled with her fists and was a capable agent. This small piece of information made Gibbs slowly begin to reconsider having her on his team, or at least sending her to improve her training. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside knowing Kate would never forgive for thinking either, nor would anyone else for that matter, and instead focused on her ability over the next few cases.   
On one specific case he had fully intended on sending her to babysit, in the hopes that if their criminal had arrived at the house, then Kate would be fully capable of protecting both herself and the family under her protection.   
He never made a mention of her faltering, not at home or the office, but still it niggled at the back of his mind, his own curious nature pushing at him to ask her about it, or talk to her and find out the reason’s why.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“The one you couldn’t stab.”   
He had to know. He had to find out the reason behind her fumble. Behind her willingness to take a blade and stab him but the inability to follow through with said action. Kate’s thoughts of ‘oh hell’ were replaced by a quick flashback to March. She took the silver blade from the tray, holding it teasingly before moving in for the kill. He’d anticipated her action and grabbed her arm, bending it behind her back making her drop the knife and in the process, pulling her closer into his body. Close enough that she was able to feel the flack vest he was wearing under his shirt. Close enough to see his eyes. When she returned to the present, she questioned if Ducky had told him that. When he said nothing, stonewalling as usual, she lowered her gaze and eventually her eyes, ashamed of her undelivered action she admitted that what the good doctor had told him was true.  
Hearing the words ‘it’s true’ fall from her lips made the scenario seem unbelievable. Not that he didn’t believe what Ducky had told him, he just wasn’t able to accept it until he heard it directly from her. He felt the anger slowly rising and resigned himself to slow, shallow breaths to prevent himself for yelling at her. He felt his throat close up, making it harder to breathe and pulled his eyes away from hers and looked round the patrons at tables beside him as if seeking for the answers that he knew they didn’t have for him and his questions. He wasn’t disappointed with her, more unwillingly to accept what she was telling him and it was this truth that made his voice hoarse when he questioned why.  
Kate, in herself, felt disappointed. It was his praise that she regarded more than anything in the world and she had failed him. She had been greatly unsure of her capabilities as an agent in the days following the event, but never let her thoughts known to Gibbs, or anyone else on the team. It scared her.   
Her feelings at this current time showed through the nervous chewing of her bottom lip and the flitting of her eyes round the shop, in the same manner as Gibbs for the same reasons. But of course, she knew the reasons; she had been drawn to her captor. Tony had asked her if it was Stockholm syndrome, but she denied all possibility of it. She could always falsify a reason, but Gibbs would see straight through it, so instead came close to admitting the truth.  
“His eyes. I was looking into his eyes, and they looked…kind.”  
“They look kind when he blew out Gerald’s shoulder?”  
“You asked my why I couldn’t stab him and I told you.”  
“Contrary to conventional wisdom, Kate, eyes can lie.”  
The tone his voice took when he said her name, made her realise he was talking to her not as Agent Todd, but as the woman who lived inside the professional persona she took on at work. And why not? They were outside work hours after all, so why shouldn’t he talk to her as a woman and not an agent.  
“You meet him again, don’t forget that.”  
“I won’t. I won’t.”  
Kate leaned across the table into his personal space, the way he was currently doing to her, looking deep into his eyes as if to convince him that what she was agreeing to she would fulfil this time through.  
“Profile him.”   
He pushed her, as far as he could without her closing up and shying away, to profile the man. They came to several shocking conclusions in the midst of drinking their respective coffees. Kate explained that he wasn’t an Islamic fanatic; there had been no mentions of Jihad, Allah or infidels. Whatever drove him wasn’t martyrdom. There was the chance, in Gibbs’ eyes that it was for revenge, Kate felt it was a money case.   
“A Hamas terrorist in it for the money?”  
“Well, he’s not in it for the seventy virgins. He’d have no trouble attracting women.”  
Finishing her sentence, Kate realised that Gibbs would’ve liked to pursue this avenue their conversation, to find out why she believed this statement and why she’d said it in the first place. She would never admit it to him, but yes, she was attracted to him.  
“Don’t go there.”  
She ignored the incorrigible smirk on his lips and continued with her profile. They were both equally exhausted discussing and thinking about this man and wanted nothing more than to exorcise him from their lives. With their conversation and coffee over, they departed with a sweet kiss and the promise of seeing each other at work in a few short minutes before driving off in their respective cars.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
They arrived together, keeping a comfortable distance between them. The entire building, thanks to Abby and Tony, knew about their relationship but the two components that built it felt it would do them no good to flaunt it freely and so decided to try and remain professional at work and keep their romance to out of work hours. How could they help the fact that sometimes work did indeed become personal?  
The second the elevator arrived on their floor, Gibbs walked up to MTAC and Kate went to her desk, watching his movements and profiling his inner and exterior moods. He was tense. Had been since her little confession that morning. She knew there was nothing she could do to alleviate his bad temper and so settled for going over every scrap of information she’d gathered on the intruder.   
Both she and Gibbs had spent numerous nights slaving over various documents and profiles, checking and double checking their information with Gitmo and Bahrain. She pulled an extremely fat and heavy folder from her bottom drawer which held two months worth of documents and proceeded to reassess the files she’d received from Paula Cassidy in Gitmo.  
Kate had first met Agent Paula Cassidy when they were assigned a case that led them to Gitmo. Although at first Paula had been a suspect, she and Kate had formed a silent allegiance. Females were few and far between at NCIS, especially in the field, so meeting a fellow female in the field was of great support to both women. Who were both as equally as strong as each other, and who both equally liked sparring with DiNozzo. The few short days they were at Gitmo, Paula and Kate had teamed up several times to take him down with great success.   
In the nights she worked over time, without Gibbs knowledge, she’d been in contact with Paula, whom she’d known had given her services on the night in question while she was down in autopsy. They’d exchange many files and documents in the hopes of tracking him down, but so far to no avail. They’d conversed briefly over the phone, and each time, Kate sounded nothing like the feisty woman Paula had met a few short months previously. With the advantage of being the only person on her team in at the moment, Kate took the time to check over her monthly schedule and remembered she had a video conference scheduled with Paula that very afternoon.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tony DiNozzo arrived at work in an overly cheerful mood. He’d had a brilliant night and an even better morning. While out on his daily morning jog through the park, he’d encountered an attractive Swedish woman. He had big plans for them tonight, although he didn’t actually know if he’d ever see her again, but at least he could hope. Kate’s intuition caught his bright tone and his expression and knew that he was in love. Again. In saying this to him, he agreed and their banter continued on until Tony’s computer announced he had mail. Kate took the moment to list several girls names, making Tony question whether she’d hacked into his computer.   
It was all his fault really.   
If he hadn’t used her computer to read his emails or whatever, which led to her receiving porn spam, she wouldn’t have known about the types of mail he was getting or who from. In all his life, he’d never have believed that he’d believe Kate never having opened an x-rated site, but he did and he thought it was sad. But this was typical Tony, and Kate had to assume that he’d either been dropped on his head as a baby or that he had attended too many frat parties and gone on too many Spring Break adventures while in college.  
“Where’s the boss?”  
“MTAC. Talking to Bahrain.”  
Tentativeness laced her voice as she stood from her desk and crossed the small distance to stand in front of Tony’s. She knew when he tried, he could be caring and comforting and also quite smart, but this level of caring required something more than the comforting words over a shared meal.  
“Tony, I’m worried about him.”  
“Gibbs? That’s like worrying about Jim Bowie in a knife fight.”  
“Bowie was killed at the Alamo.”  
“I know, I saw the movie.”  
Naturally, with Tony, it all came down to films. No matter what time or day, and no matter what case, Tony seemed to find a way of relating it to any and every movie he’d ever seen in his life. It was annoying as hell, but in a strange way it was also extremely comforting to Kate. Seeing that Tony was a hard working agent who could also kick back and take things less seriously made Kate, in a way, want to learn from him.  
“Tony, he’s fixated on that terrorist.”  
“Not fixated, determined. Like Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive. Like the Duke in the Searchers. Mel Gibson in Payback.”  
“Do you ever read a book?”  
“Kate, determined is good a cop.”  
“Not when it turns into obsession.”  
Seeing she wasn’t getting anywhere by having a semi-regular conversation with Tony, Kate decided to use a psychology trick she’d learned while training as a profiler. Her restless pacing back and forth between the four desks immediately made Tony stop what he was doing and focus more on his partner, and how she really did seem agitated over the Gibbs terrorist thing.  
“Gibbs surprised me at D.C. Beans this morning. He bought me coffee and then he probed me about that terrorist like it happened yesterday, not months ago.”   
“That is serious. He’s never bought me coffee.”  
“Tony…”  
“Kate…”  
When she stopped pacing in front of his desk, Tony had a clear opportunity to look at Kate’s face. She was strong, like Gibbs in the sense that she rarely showed emotion bar that of enjoyment, anger and happiness. This was different.   
Worry, helplessness and stress danced in her eyes. Small tell tale red marks beneath her eyes hinted that she was quite literally on the verge of tears. This gave great insight as to how Kate was taking the situation, because in the eight months he’d known her, she’d never cried. Not even when she’d been taken hostage. She’d held herself with the same grace and decorum that she applied to everything she done. He wanted to say something deep and profound but only got as far as her name.   
“Gibbs is like a dog. He‘ll gnaw at an old bone until you throw him a steak. When he‘s done with the steak, he goes back to the old bone. The terrorist is Gibbs‘ old bone.”  
“Let’s hope he doesn’t choke on it.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
What the agents didn’t know was that on a small farm in Maryland, the terrorist that they were so determined on capturing was formulating a plan to take down Marine One which would serve in their other plans on killing Presidents Bush and Sharon.   
There were ten men sitting around various computer monitors and televisions, their tasks being allocated accordingly to each individual. Not having strong enough intel to take down the correct helicopter each individual questioned how they would retrieve the correct information.  
“A bird is going to tell me.”  
It was this simple sentence, and the all knowing smirk that led his cohorts to believe their leader knew more than he was willing to let on and knew not to question him any further.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs had been in MTAC all morning and most of the afternoon. There had been no new cases come in which was lucky for them. All though Kate and Tony knew they’d be perfectly capable of running an investigation themselves, it was reassuring to know Gibbs was there leading them when they needed it. Kate raised her head from one of the many files she was reading when a shadow encroached on her desk and found Ducky.   
“Hi, Ducky.”  
“Kate. You seem awfully busy.”  
“Yeah, I am. Kind of.”  
“No case?”  
“No, nothing. Gibbs has been in MTAC all morning and we’ve, I’ve been going over files. Tony’s just been Tony.”  
Tony raised his head at the mention of his name and seen the sickly sweet smile Kate had on her lips for him alone. It was her sign that she’d got one up on him and would like to see his retaliation. Plastering the same smile on his own lips, he voiced his offer of lunch.   
Shock briefly flitted across her face, but both she and Ducky accepted his offer. After a quick phone call to the lab to see if Abby and McGee wanted to accompany them, to which they declined, Tony quickly followed in the same direction that Kate and Ducky had left in moments before.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs was pissed. More so than he had been that morning after Kate’s little admission. He’d had enough of fellow agents stonewalling his every move, not believing him when he said their main man was back in the country. Why did everyone, bar his own team, seem to think that his infallible gut instincts were actually an ulcer, and a pretty severe one at that.  
Daniel Snyder, in Bahrain, seemed to believe that their player was still in the Middle East and that he was involved with Hamas. There was no other explanation, seeing as Hamas was like the Mafia and didn’t trust anyone outside the family to take care of their mistakes. Gibbs knew Mossad was lying to them, that they had to have some form of dossier on him, but apparently they didn’t even have a Hamas codename. Daniel tried to counter Gibbs anger by telling him that if Mossad did have a dossier and they were holding out, it was because they wanted to take him out themselves.  
In need of better news, he stormed from MTAC while Daniel was still talking to him and headed straight for the elevator at the end of the landing and down to Abby’s, paying no interest the two agents he assumed were still at their desks. Having assigned her and McGee to set up his program and begin tracking the man, he’d hoped by now they’d have some sort of lead. What he found was nothing but counterproductive compared to what he normally saw from his ever trusty forensic scientist.   
He watched Abby silently from the doorway before stepping in, making her crash into him. She was startled when she felt her back hit his front, as she always was when he creeped up on her in his scary Marine way, and was even more shocked when he yelled at her. He wasn’t even tolerating her music; not that he ever did anyway, and then he started intimidating McGee into getting the age for him.   
He remained silent, having made Abby sit at her desk and do nothing, and waited for McGee to run and scan the image on the screen. When he got a hit, Gibbs declared he’d have been twenty one in nineteen ninety and wanted a hit from the picture within three days. Storming from the lab, McGee and Abby shared a concerned look, knowing that their case, which had run cold, was only being kept warm because of Gibbs insistence.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Ducky, being the thoughtful man he was, had pre-booked a terrace table for three at his favourite restaurant as if knowing in advance he‘d have company joining him despite the fact it was Tony who made the offer , one block from the office. As they gave their waitress their orders, Tony had seemed to have forgotten about the love of his life from that morning as he trailed after the blonde waitress, leaving Kate to simply roll her eyes and Ducky to chuckle.   
With her co-worker gone, who she knew would pass off her worry as just that, she took the chance to speak to Ducky, seeing as he’d known him longer. It also hadn’t been that long since she’d spoken to him, funnily enough, about Gibbs. A case they were working had become personal for Gibbs, and Kate wanted to find a way of letting Gibbs let them help him. She’d gone to Ducky, who’d simply told her to talk to him. She was slightly hopeful that his advice would be more than to talk to him this time.   
“He’s obsessed, Ducky.”  
“I gather we’re talking about Jethro?”  
“And that damn terrorist. I’m worried, Duck. I’ve never seen him like this before.”  
“Have you spoken to him about it?”  
“You really think he’d listen? He hardly listens to us as it is, and I don’t want to push him away by making this a problem between us. It’s tense at home, and that worries me as well.”  
Ducky was about to say something when he noticed Tony trailing after the waitress who was bringing back their orders, and settled laying a hand over Kate’s, giving a reassuring squeeze. He’d also noticed the same marks around Kate’s eyes that Tony had, and wanted badly to allay her fears that Gibbs would reject her help.  
Kate wasn’t too forthcoming with her fears about Gibbs and neither was anyone else, so they all made a start on their separate meals. Tony hadn’t even figured Kate had been conversing with Ducky about Gibbs, and so thought nothing of the silence he encountered when he arrived back at the table.  
“Gibbs was like this just before his last divorce.”  
“We can’t divorce him, Ducky.”  
There was a lilt in her voice that suggested to Ducky that she wouldn’t want to divorce him anyway, no matter how gruff he became and he said as much to her, before sharing a somewhat conspiring smile with her. Through his food, Tony made a mention of the mysterious red head, which Kate was none too pleased hearing about despite knowing who she was. She barely hid her glare she obviously directed at Tony before continuing with her meal and questioning who Gibbs had been chasing.  
Tony leant over the table and took the orange slice from the side of Kate’s glass, before dipping it in her iced tea and sitting back down. She hated other people taking things from her plate, or drinking from her cup, especially when it came to Tony so another pointed glare headed his way.  
“Had to be a redhead.”  
It was this second mention of Gibbs former taste in lovers that prompted Kate to lean across the table herself and smack Tony firmly across the back of the head, in the way Gibbs had done many times before and the same way he had taught her to. There was a specific wrist flick, that when applied correctly, really hurt.  
She was hoping to pass off her attack as a reaction to Tony screwing around with her drink, but knew there was no need when he looked across the table giving her a glare of his own.   
“You’re not Gibbs! You do that again and you’re going to be wearing that tuna salad.”  
Kate merely rolled her eyes again and went back to the remainder of her meal, which was finished quickly when she felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach ridding her of her appetite when Ducky inadvertently began talking about a child murder, whom Gibbs was after and successfully caught. Albeit, it had taken him a year to get the deviant, and Kate could only hope that their terrorist would be caught long before then.  
Tony was half paying attention to the conversation, half focusing on filling his stomach. He took a glance up, to gauge Kate’s reaction to what Ducky was telling her, when over her shoulder he spotted the blonde from his morning run, jogging along the opposite street, still wearing her purple Lycra shorts and multi-coloured sports bra.  
“It’s her!”  
“Who?”  
“The love of my life!”  
Tony practically dove out his chair, leaving Kate to stare open mouthed at him, and follow his actions as he weaved through the crowds and traffic. A crease formed in her forehead as she frowned at her partner’s immaturity and she turned back to Ducky with a little more than agitation in her voice, asking when he was going to grow up. He explained, in the wise and oh so logical way he always did so when it came to Kate, that in Italy, most thirty two year olds were still living with their mothers. This, naturally, prompted another eye roll from Kate.  
“Oh gosh.”  
She reached for her drink again, and was quite willing to spend the remainder of lunch with Ducky when she remembered about Paula, who was probably already waiting for her in MTAC, despite having twenty minutes to go. Reaching round for her bag, the realisation dawned on her that it was Tony who offered to by, and had once again got out of doing so.  
“I’ll take care of it.”  
Kate was adamant that she was going to buy lunch, and continued to root through her purse looking for her wallet.  
“My treat.”  
“No, that’s not right.”  
“Go, Kate. It’s been a long pale winter. I need some sun before returning to my human jigsaw puzzle.”  
The questioning look Kate gave him prompted Ducky to let her know she didn’t want to go there. Agreeing, Kate stood and leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek and thank him for lunch before taking off in the opposite direction Tony had. Ducky quite happily remained with his own lunch and Tony’s fries.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The warm May sun and cool breeze was a refreshing change to the air conditioned office and florescent overhead lighting that Kate had been subjected to for the past six hours. What she was doing, her secret conference with Paula, went against everything Gibbs had taught her, but she’d had a week to convince herself that she was doing it for the team. Doing it to prevent the seams, that were already at breaking point, from tearing completely.  
The intersection came up and she waited patiently for the traffic to come to a stop. Through the traffic she watched the red motorcycle weave a path and begin revving, the driver clearly showing off in her presence. She laughed at the antics he was portraying, having always loved motorcycles and usually the riders that accompanied them. At first, it had been a rebellious moment in her teenage years and since then, well. This rider was clearly flirting with her, and she resisted the urge to flirt back, even more so when he raised his visor.  
It was an instinctive reaction to reach for her gun, determined not to let that bastard slip from her grasp again. He rode off, leaving a wake of pedestrians watching on in shock as the pretty brunette in the white suit pulled out her gun and ran into the middle of the road. Kate paid them no mind and offered no calming words of reassurance that she was a federal agent, she simply checked her surroundings and found the suitable car to follow him in.  
“Federal agent! Follow that motorcycle!”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Once Gibbs had stormed his way through the building and back to MTAC for another round with Daniel, informing him of the man’s predicted age, he went back to the squad room to check with McGee. The young agent was as green as the came, and still buckled and stuttered under the abruptness always associated with Gibbs and his approach to cases. Specifically cases that involved ones that got away.  
The young Norfolk based agent, scared out his wits, calmly explained that they hadn’t got anything, but there had been a hit without enough points. Having traced it, he continued his explanation by stating it was a biology teacher in Manchester.   
“Sorry.”  
“Never apologise. It’s a sign of weakness.”  
“Sorry. Right.”  
As useful as McGee could be with his grasp of technology and ability to create programs NASA would be proud of, Gibbs easily tired of his stuttering and inability to form complete sentences when in his presence. He was about to leave again when he realised he was down two agents. Even though there were no cases at present, he’d have liked to have them there to at least get through the mountains of paperwork that were starting to form.   
“Where’s Kate and Tony?”  
“Went to lunch with Ducky.”  
“When?”  
“About an hour or so ago.”  
Gibbs once again rounded on McGee, pressing him for more information as the whereabouts of his agents, before leaving the young boy quite literally shaken to the core and working once again on the computer in the hopes of finding the as yet unnamed bastard and getting at least some approval from Gibbs.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs flew into autopsy and stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Ducky and his still relatively new assistant, Jimmy, who was straight out of medical school, piece together what could only be described as a human jigsaw puzzle.  
“Just when I think nothing will surprise me.”  
Ducky began a long winded tale of where he was found, what he was found in and a further explanation that their victim had been dissected by a sadist with a knowledge of anatomy. He’d paused far too soon in his tale for it to be natural, as Ducky always loved a good story, and Gibbs certainly noticed this abrupt stop.  
“Oh Gibbs, I am so sorry. I should have realised. It could narrow down your search for that bastard who put the bullet in Gerald’s shoulder. It only just came to me.”  
“What came to you, Ducky?”  
“That bugger knew anatomy. I even asked if he was a doctor. He didn’t reply but I’ll wager he went to medical school in Britain!”  
Gibbs let this knew piece of information sink in, before about turning to go back to the squad room. It was only when he reached the sliding doors that he remembered his original reason for going down there in the first place, and questioned whether Kate and Tony had came back from lunch with him.  
“No. Tony went off on one of his usual pursuits and Kate had a videoconference with Gitmo.”  
Gibbs stormed out of autopsy and back to the bullpen to give the new search criteria to McGee. What he couldn’t understand was why Kate was videoconferencing with Gitmo, and without his knowledge. Either way, he was heading up there himself once again, and so told McGee that once he arrived back to put Tony under house arrest. McGee, himself, couldn’t understand why Gibbs thought he had the power to make Tony do what he wanted, but he assured himself he could do it.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kate suddenly regretted being quick off the mark and jumping in the blue mini to tail the motorcycle. For someone who was so smart, she really could get herself into tricky situations at times. She refused to answer their questions, or to ask questions of her own. As her curious nature pushed her hard to ask the questions, for fear of her safety she remained tight lipped, watching the road in front of her for any sign that may tell her where she was being taken. If she were to hazard a guess and listen to her gut, she’d believe that they were in cahoots with her captor in autopsy from two months ago; she’d bet her life on it.  
She quietly and quickly assessed the danger she was surrounded by; the backseat passenger had her weapon. Once they’d received conformation that she was the person they needed, they’d quickly removed anything from her person that could cause them harm before binding her hands together behind her back. Mr. Backseat Passenger had simply wanted a free feel, she thinks.   
While the man behind her posed the more obvious threat of being able to do two things, one being to shoot her brains out and the other being to choke her, the man to her left she knew could be just as dangerous.  
Why did she get herself into things like this?  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The technicians in MTAC were used to seeing Gibbs in here on an almost daily, and nightly, basis and were well versed in what he wanted and when he wanted it. They never denied him his viewing of the video clip from autopsy; one specific frame of his face before he shot the camera, on a loop, playing over constantly. This was probably one of the reasons that Gibbs couldn’t escape him, as he was forever playing this scene in both MTAC and his mind.  
Also not to his knowledge, the technicians had changed shifts and Gibbs was now faced with a new person in place of who he had been seeing all morning. He offered to put Gitmo on the main screen, in place of the CNN news report that was currently showing, but Gibbs declined; preferring instead to take it on the headset on a private side screen. Kate had asked specifically for this videoconference, which made it personal, and he wanted to make sure that it remained private.  
“Agent Cassidy.”  
The strawberry blonde lifted her head at the sound of the male voice intruding on her quiet office space, and was greeted with the stern face of Gibbs. For a profiler, as Kate was bad at lying, Paula was bad at keeping the shock from her face and eyes.  
“Hello, Agent Gibbs. Where’s Agent Todd?”  
“She’s not here. Why’d she ask for the video conference?”  
“She wanted to discuss the Hamas Little Creek lead I gave her a while back.”  
“You couldn’t do that on the phone?”  
“She wanted face to face.”  
She had secretly been glad for Kate’s persuasion at a face to face conference, because it would give her a chance to analyse the woman, who over the phone in the past few months had seem drawn and distant compared to the woman she knew.   
“Anything else?”  
“Nope.”  
Paula, from where she sat, had a vantage point of seeing who was in MTAC and quickly drew Gibbs attention to the fact that Tony had arrived. Gibbs, whose mood was breaking on concern for Kate’s want on the VC, quickly changed back to anger and drew his conversation with Paula to a close, letting her know he’d get back to her later.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tony made a mention of McGee placing him under house arrest, and Gibbs made a mention of a certain creek. He was sarcastically delighted that Tony was familiar with this creek and how deep he was in it. He tried in vain to lessen the blow of Gibbs anger, but his words, as always, seemed to fuel the fire as Gibbs launched into full tyrant mode and wasn’t willing to back down under any circumstances.  
“May I say something?”  
“Only if it has to do with me catching that bastard I’m chasing.”  
“It does.”  
“Then speak.”  
“Boss, you really need to see Moby Dick.”  
Seeing the flare in the older man’s eyes that always came before a head slap, a sharp head slap, Tony ran down the stairs before Gibbs had a chance. Gibbs growled and slowly made his own way down, stopping at the railing at taking stock of his team.  
He watched McGee type furiously away at the computer, and Tony dive back to his own desk in the hopes that his boss would calm down. His gaze fell upon Kate’s empty desk and he frowned at her apparent tardiness. Taking his phone from his pocket, he dialled the number and listened to it ring, waiting patiently for her to pick up.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It was the vibration on her hip she felt before the device rang. The driver turned to her, his eyes flashing briefly with anger before turning to the man in back.  
“Simi.”  
Mr Backseat Passenger, Kate now knew to be named Simi, placed her gun beside him and leant forward, freely taking the second and obvious chance at a free grope without her being able to harm him. Feeling his hands running over her, Kate bit back a comment that would surely place her in worse danger.  
“It’s on the left side on the belt!”  
The phone was quickly removed from her hip and she had a passing chance to see the screen; Gibbs was calling. There was hope, she hadn’t returned from lunch with Ducky so he was looking for her.   
“Who is Gibbs?”  
Kate turned to face the driver, only to give him an indignant glare and return her gaze to the road ahead of her. She choked on the scream at the back of throat when the back of his hand came into contact with her face. The gasping breaths were all that betrayed her shock at the action.  
“Who is Gibbs?”  
“My boyfriend. He calls me when he leaves the office.”  
“Where does he work?”  
She turned again, the blood from her lips beginning to trickle down her chin. The triumphant smirk she gave was probably far worse than the glare she gave before when she gave her second answer.  
“Iraq.”  
The backhander she received was far worse than the first, causing the blood to spread across her fair skin and the wound already on her lip to deepen. She sat back in the seat, quietly, tasting the blood from her lip. She’d give anything right now to be able to fight for her survival, anything.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs was concerned that she didn’t answer, which she always did when he called. Making the assumption that she was caught up with something, he put his phone away and headed downstairs to push and intimidate McGee even more.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The highway turned into a dusty deserted stretch of road that seemed to go on forever and a day. In the distance, a small farm came into view and the driver pulled into the barn. The man she was waiting to see stood at the opening and watched as she drove in, before approaching the blue mini.   
She watched in silence as Simi and the driver got out the car and went about their duties. It seemed they had been acting as delivery boys, she being the gift delivery in question. She remained where she was, simply for the fact she couldn’t exit the vehicle without difficulty as her hands were tied behind her back, and waited and watched spitefully as the man she loved to hate opened the door and greeted her.  
“Caitlin. Did you miss me?”  
There was no venom, no hate. It seemed that he was more than pleased with her arrival; but of course he was. He had manufactured this, in his twisted mind and God only knew what he wanted with her or planned on doing to her.  
He grabbed her upper arm roughly and his eyes dared her to make a run for it. He openly assessed her face, noticing the wound and the dripping blood on her lip and chin. It seemed Stockholm syndrome was prevailing as Kate allowed him to touch her face and check out her wound, she felt she best comply with him for her safety if nothing else.  
“I apologize for Bassam’s actions.”  
“At least he didn’t blow my shoulder out with a nine mil.”   
He turned to the man who attacked her, now known to be named Bassam and asked him to undo her cuffs before returning back to her and asking after Gerald.  
“Still in rehab. Asks every day if you’re dead yet.”  
She badly wanted to add ‘I’ll be pulling the trigger’ but bit her tongue, knowing he could see it in her eyes anyway. She jumped slightly when she felt the cold blade of a pocket knife on her flesh as Bassam slide it between her hands and cut the plastic tie binding her hands. Personally, she believed this was one of the worst things he could’ve done, considering he was the one who had already wounded her.   
She turned faster than anyone could have anticipated, her right hand clenched in a tight fist and punched Bassam straight in the face. He captor pulled her back, positioning himself between his cohort and his wounded little Caitlin, to prevent anymore blood being shed. Kate, as much as she hated him, appreciated the fact that he thought highly enough of her to protect her instead of throwing her to the dogs to see what she was fully capable of, despite the fact she thought he should know already.  
The smirk he gave her clearly showed he knew she was far deadlier than she appeared to be, and he was egged on by her apparent disrespect for him and his associates.   
“Satisfied?”  
“No. He smacked me twice.”  
“Being slapped by a woman is twice the insult to Bassam.”  
“Really? What about being shot by one?”  
He smirked again, knowing from previous experience that she’d have no qualms about shooting any of them, but deeper down also remembered her previous fumbling and hoped that somehow he could use this to his advantage.   
He turned away to Simi, asking why she was smacked and Simi responded by throwing over her cell, stating she would not tell them who was calling her. He knew already who would be calling his precious little Caitlin, he’d expected it sooner than later, but this was far too soon for him. He almost said as much to her, but reigned control on his desire to show her he knew far more about them than anyone thought they did and settled for simply stating Gibbs had called.  
“I better call him back. He is my boss.”  
He knew since and because of his last visit, she and Gibbs had become more than boss and subordinate. They were lovers, and knew for a fact that this was very useful to him and his plans for domination of this brunette who fascinated him ever so much.  
“Of course. But first, some ice for your lip. Then you may call him.”  
He grabbed her bicep again, feeling it more defined and stronger than he seemed to ever remember, and led her away to the farm house. The unvoiced dare was still dancing in her eyes, and though she would have loved to, she really didn’t want to fulfil any of his fantasies which involved her. While she still had the chance, Kate glanced back over her shoulder, watching as various men moved about the barn, placing missiles in a trailer ready for departure.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It seemed like forever since he’d seen his Katie, but in reality it had only roughly been seven hours, according to his watch. His restless pacing was beginning to annoy Tony and distract him from the paperwork he was pretending to do, ad his constant absence from the squad room to MTAC certainly wasn’t going unnoticed by either agent.   
“Heard from Kate?”  
“No.”  
“I tried her at home, not there. Gonna give her a paddle?”  
McGee was clueless as to this little question, but Tony kept it simple for the young agent, who he believed wouldn’t and didn’t fully understand the concept of their team just yet, by telling McGee that it had to do with the creek that he and Kate were up.  
Gibbs hadn’t specifically said that Kate was also knee deep in the creek that Tony was, but this was work, and he’d promised himself he’d never treat her any different than Tony now that he was sleeping with her. Shared his life with her.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It was a nicely decorated house, but too floral for her taste. There were various monitors set up in the living area, surrounding a cream sofa, with matching pillows decorated with embroidered red flowers. If this was a different situation, Kate found that she’d quite like to decorate her own home this way, with much less flowers.   
The oak table she was sitting at was large enough to be filled by her team twice. A modest arrangement of fruit sat in the middle, and was accompanied by a small plate of ice. As the man approached once more with a damp cloth in his hands, Kate smelt the antiseptic solution from the fabric and felt the steel solidify on her spine, building determination to not lose the battle or the war.  
The silence was almost deafening; she preferred the white noise of DiNozzo as it allowed her to think more clearly. She couldn’t stand this. She was preparing herself for a battle, of which she would win, but she hadn’t expected chivalry.  
Flinching slightly as he further inspected her wound, Kate found she could not distract herself from the lingering gaze of his eyes, which were locked on hers as he worked. The now dried blood was cleaned from her lip and chin, and she felt the sting as the antiseptic penetrated her wound. Her eyes finally found the strength to drift from his as she watched him lay down the cloth, his tan hand picking up a single ice cube to apply to her lip, which over time had slowly began to swell up. She removed it from his fingers, not wanting his touch on her anymore than it had been already.  
“You told me I could call Gibbs.”  
“On one condition.”  
It was the first laugh she’d had all day, despite it’s sardonic nature. If she had grown to know anything about this man over two months, it should’ve been never to expect anything less. Even Gibbs had taught her to expect the unexpected.   
Her fingertips were numbing from the ice, the melted water slowly running down her wrist. She lowered her hand to the offered dish towel, and her tongue instinctively ran over her wound, soothing the numbness and checking the severity. Her eyebrows, which were one of her prized features, arched in mocking shock, one of her many traits.  
“Surprise, surprise. And what am I to say?”  
“You became quite ill after lunch. You went to emergency, where it was diagnosed with food poisoning. They pumped out your stomach, gave you an IV and sent you home. You’ll be fine tomorrow. You just need some sleep.”  
It was the perfect alibi. Right down to the last detail. Did he know that if she told Gibbs this he would check with Ducky? This whole day was apparently perfect in it’s planning. She wanted to destroy his plans, whatever they were for her, and for the rest of her team and quite possibly America. As always, her pushy curiosity raged a war within, and she found herself determined to find out what would happen if she didn’t. and then she heard herself asking the question she’d been thinking about.  
“And if I don’t say that?”  
The smirk was there again as he called out a blonde woman, named Marta, who Kate recognized as the woman Tony was chasing down the street at lunch. The penny dropped, as did the sinking and sickening feeling in her stomach, as Marta told how she would put a bullet in the back of Tony’s head as she ran her fingers through his hair that night.  
It was some time before Kate regained the ability to breathe properly, let alone talk. She couldn’t actually imagine a life without Tony, no matter how much he pissed her off. She needed him, just like he needed her, although they’d never admit that to each other. But then her anger flared at him, how he could be immature as to follow the brain in his pants instead of his head.   
The raging debate of whether to save a friends life and accept her orders, or to defy them and hear of a friend’s death, because of her no less, also went on for some time. As much as she didn’t want to, Kate found herself agreeing to this and reaching for her cell phone which was being offered to her. They obviously knew that when it came to her friends, Caitlin Todd would do anything to save them.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
This had to be the worst mood Tony had ever seen Gibbs in, and he’d seen a lot of temper flare up’s in his time at NCIS. He obviously hadn’t been satisfied with what he had learned in MTAC, and not having Kate around seemed only to enrage him more. Even his coffee didn’t seem to calm his mood.  
Tony looked up from his paperwork to see Gibbs leaning over McGee checking his progress, which he seemed to be doing every five minutes when he wasn’t in MTAC harassing the technicians up there, when he heard a cell phone ring. His interest peaked when he heard Kate’s name mentioned and the relieved sigh from his boss.  
“Is she okay?”  
“Food poisoning.”  
“Food poisoning?”  
He was interested to know how one could contract food poisoning from a simple tuna salad, but Gibbs was giving nothing away other than the fact that he was going for coffee.   
“Well, what’s wrong? Other than not catching that Hamas guy.”  
He’d brought it on himself, he really had. He knew he’d chastise himself later for being so blatantly stupid in his actions, but he was Tony DiNozzo, it’s what he done best. Gibbs rounded on him, his familiar anger directed at his senior field agent, and for once in his life, Tony found himself longing for a simple head slap than what he received. It scared him and he now found that Kate had been right all along.  
“The Hamas guy! The terrorist! The bastard! The ass! We call him everything but his name, DiNozzo. Do you know why?”  
“Because we don’t know his name?”  
“Because you’re not working a hot case. I want his name! I want it today!”  
His parting shot was in reference to Tony’s comment about Moby Dick and Tony found himself also wishing Kate was here to ease his anger at him. McGee, on the other hand, had stumbled on a discovery that made his inability to form coherent sentences worse than normal and tried in vain to attract Tony’s attention. Tony however, was admitting out loud, which he would never do if she was there, that Kate was right about Gibbs losing it. His speculation furthered to whether Gibbs really meant what he said, and ignored McGee’s plight for attention. It was only when his name was screamed with urgency that he turned to face McGee, who was staring open mouthed at the computer screen and pointing, now not able to speak at all.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The mid afternoon sun was still warm, and the breeze was shifting the leaves of the tree that shadowed the pine picnic bench that Kate, Marta and her captor sat at. She would have risked an escape, but estimating a six mile journey to the nearest highway, and the fact her sig was lying on the table, primed and ready to be fired, she wouldn’t make it far enough away to miss the shot. And her captor was a good shot.  
On the table before her lay two wine glasses, both full, a bottle of Chardonnay, her gun, a radio and a pile of walnuts and shells. She was offered a glass, which she profusely denied, instead throwing a venomous glare at Marta asking for him to let her taste it. Marta threw an equally venomous glare at Kate and also stated she wished for none as she didn’t drink.  
“That’s right. Muslims don’t use alcohol.”  
“Well, not at home. Perhaps, if you thought of this as a weekend house party. With you as the honoured guest.”  
Kate raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, which was becoming a strong habit today, before chuckling slightly, shaking her head she took the chance to look around and eyed up her gun on the table. If she were quick enough she could reach for it and kill him, and her.   
“And you the charming host?”  
“Oh, many women find me charming.”  
The sleazy tone which his voice took on and the path his eyes took over her body made Kate shudder, dreading to think there was an underlying message and retorted by saying he must pay them well. For once, she wasn’t being sarcastic and Marta must have picked up on her tone as she began chuckling.   
The radio on the table came to life, and the person on the other end queried if they knew what they needed as they were ready to leave. It was all finally falling into place, the reasons that she was there in the first place. They were planning on extracting some form of information from her and it seemed they would do it any way possible, more than likely drawing pleasure from any pain she was exposed to. As always, her question wasn’t answered, instead being asked to guess where the pea was.   
She stared at the man ahead of her, never once looking down at the shells he was shuffling, content to play along with his charade. He was playing games with her, she knew this, and she hoped that if she played along she might get the answers to her asked and unasked questions. Marta, however, wasn’t too convinced with Kate’s accuracy when she tapped a shell and it was lifted to reveal the pea, stating it was a lucky guess.  
“Was it Caitlin?”  
“No. Now answer my question.”  
She was getting nowhere quick and was once again asked to play the game to satisfy Marta, who Kate was planning on giving her first bullet to when she got her gun back. If anything it would be to wipe that smug grin off her countenance. Guessing correctly once again, she once again asked why she was there, only to be told that it was so she could teach him this trick. To show his seriousness, he asked her once again to guess, which she did, in order to try and gain understanding of how Kate could do this without looking at what he was doing.  
“Amazing. How did they teach you to be so observant?”  
“Who?”  
“The Secret Service.”  
She hadn’t learnt this from the Secret Service. It was a secret talent she was proud of, as was her drawing skills and her ability to guess ages. Admittedly, profiling, especially men, was one of her main weaknesses. It was only now the penny really dropped and everything clicked into place. From what she had gathered since her arrival, just under two hours ago, she held the key to what they needed. The goose that laid to golden egg, if you will. She had what they wanted to know, and only now did she realise it involved the President, who was flying to Camp David with Prime Minister Sharon.  
“I saw those missiles. You want to know which helo is Marine One to shoot it down!”  
“Those tiny missiles are mere training aids. In any case, I have no intention of shooting down Marine One.”  
“You’re a lying bastard!”  
Marta laughed at Kate’s outburst, secretly hoping that she’d be punished for speaking so indignantly, however, Marta was the one who was given the pointed glare, clearly stating to shut up.  
“Unfortunately, half of that is true.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs had taken time out of his intimidation of McGee and Tony to retrieve a fresh helping of his highly-favoured, extra strong coffee from his favourite, as Kate put it, caffeine dealer. He couldn’t believe how lax his team were approaching this whole situation with their terrorist; he’d held three of them hostage for god’s sake and yet they were all acting as if he was never going to show up again. Did his gut instincts no longer provoke the same insatiable need to protect and serve in his team as they once did? Even Kate, in her own way, had found a way of coping through this whole ordeal.  
Kate. He was missing her, in every sense of the word. He hadn’t seen her since their impromptu coffee meeting that morning, and although he knew he’d see her at home, it wasn’t the same as having her beside him at the office. He remembered the overwhelming relief when she phoned earlier, and had been playing it over in his head since he left the squad room.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Yeah, Gibbs.”  
“Hey, it’s Kate.”  
“Where are you?”  
“Home. I got food poisoning. I went to emergency and got my stomach pumped, they sent me home and told me to rest. Tony‘s right; never eat oysters in a month without an R. I‘ll be fine by tomorrow.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
She’d hung up without waiting for a response, which was highly unnatural for her. Gibbs, at the time had thought nothing more of it, just that she was picking up on his traits. But now the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed his nightmares were becoming a reality.  
Stepping off the elevator, he could see more than the necessary amount of people surrounding his desk, and hoped to some extent that it was work related instead of another of McGee and Abby’s tactics to play house. But if that were the case, Ducky and Tony wouldn’t be there.  
Encroaching on his team, he growled lowly before it became apparent that the huddle was indeed work related, and to some extent personal. McGee telling him they had a name was one of the better pieces of news he’d heard all day, and it slightly relieved his anger.  
His name, Ari Haswari invoked immediate anger and confusion in Gibbs and he vowed silently to take him out. He even went as far as congratulating McGee on his downsizing of potential suspects.  
“What’s with his name? Ari is Israeli, Haswari is Arab.”  
Tony, much to Gibbs delight, had already found someone who knew him before his terrorist antics. Ari, he learned, was a postgraduate research assistant at the Edinburgh Centre for Infectious Diseases. Tony believed that to be the reason why Hamas chose him to recover the smallpox virus from autopsy two months ago.  
“Tony, let’s go! McGee , give me a GPS search on Kate’s cell phone. It’s off now but if it comes back on I want coordinates.”  
Tony grabbed his backpack and followed after Gibbs, slightly confused at why Gibbs would want a GPS search on Kate when he knew where she was. He quickly made his way over to where Gibbs was waiting by the elevator, anxious to know where they were going and what Gibbs was planning on doing if he seen or heard from Kate for the remainder of the day.  
“Kate’s at home, Boss.”  
It was his actual tone that prompted Gibbs, for once, to explain his actions. It was almost as if Tony were saying ‘she’s puking and ill, let’s leave her to it’, but Gibbs being who he was, and Tony knowing this, wouldn’t let Kate be alone if she were ill and alone at home.  
“She didn’t answer her phone. I don’t think she ate bad oysters for lunch.”  
“She had a tuna salad.”  
Why hadn’t he listened to his gut? Why hadn’t he insisted Ducky go over a check on her? Why hadn’t he gone to check on her? He lowered his head at his own stupidity, a deeper realisation coming over him in the process.  
“Tony, that bastard’s got her.”  
“Boss…”  
“He’s got her!”  
Gibbs stormed off, back to his desk to likely insist that McGee get some sort of immediate trace on Kate’s cell, or to try and narrow down her possible locations and to harass Tobias Fornell over at the Hoover building.   
Tony stood where he was, regretful that he hadn’t hung around during lunch so that he and Kate could walk back to work together. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have left to chase a tight ass. His own dark growl and swift turn around proved to himself that he cared for Kate more than he even realised.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
They were pushing her. She was adamant in her convictions that no matter what, she wouldn’t tell them what she did or didn’t know. At least five times already, she’d tried to convince Marta there was no way of telling the helicopters apart, but this was proving far more taxing than hoped for. For the sixth and final time, Kate stated that there was no way of telling them apart and added that if there were, she wouldn’t tell them.  
“Even if it meant your life?”  
Marta leaned threateningly into Kate’s personal space, and Kate leaned forward in the same manner, asking in the same tone if she were willing to die for what she believed.   
“We Hamas prove that every day.”  
“No. your children do!”  
The gun was in her hands quickly and was centred on her forehead. Kate found that being on the end of a gun barrel was more intimidating and terrifying than being the person holding it. If it were done as a scare tactic, it worked. If this was the end of her life as she knew, then she’d die knowing she’d given nothing away to her captors and their now foiled attempt to assassinate the president.   
A tan hand was thrust in front of the gun barrel, it’s owner determined to take back control of the situation which he had seemed to have lost through the fighting words of the two women before him. This was his attack, it was his plot to kidnap Kate and if necessary, kill.  
He knew, of course, that Kate was telling the truth. He had simply wanted to see if what he knew about, could actually be applied to the woman. What he’d read about her had first spiked his interest in her, and he couldn’t have been more thrilled when it was she who appeared outside the autopsy doors that morning.   
He had tried then to possess her mind, but only got as far as having control over her body when he checked over her for a concealed weapon and again when she’d tried to attack him. He wanted that again, having her close like that. Plainly, he wanted her.  
“Marta, give me her gun.”  
“We are wasting time!”  
“The gun, Marta! Please. If there is killing to be done, I will do it.”  
The gun was exchanged, but Marta held on strongly to the belief that Kate deserved to die for her insolence and lack of compliance towards them. Her boss, however, had other ideas.  
“I believe you, Caitlin. Relax. Have a glass of wine. I don’t like to drink alone.”  
His tone was condescending, but strangely, relaxed Kate enough to consider that this wasn’t her day to die after all. She’d lived through this ruddy experience and would make certain that if she ever encountered him, or her, again, she’d personally be putting a bullet between their eyes.  
“Haswari! What…!”  
“Caitlin is telling the truth. There is no way to identify Marine One from the others.”  
“You told me there was.”  
Haswari’s smile was one that could give the Grim Reaper a run for his money, and equally as intimidating.  
“I lied.”  
Marta’s own anger had reached it’s peak, and now to find out that she’d been played all this time pushed her over the edge and further. Reaching to grab the radio on the table, she briefly saw Haswari raise the gun from the corner of her eye and barely had the time to react.  
“Women should never get involved in politics. It’s a waste of beauty.”  
As the gunshot resonated around the woods and her head, Kate slid to the far end of her seat, far away from the body, the dark red blood that was beginning to pool around her feet. She looked towards Haswari for some sort of explanation; why he took her, how he knew, what he wanted now.  
The cell phone was slid gently from his pocket, and he held it in the palm of his hand as he offered it to her across the table. He took a final chance to take in her beauty, but knowing it wouldn’t be the last time he would see her.  
“Call your old friends at the Secret Service. I will tell them all they need to know.”  
Kate stared at him, unsure if he was being honest with her or if her was playing her along. Her gaze fell between them to the cell phone, and the way he insistently thrust it at her.  
“Take it. My Hamas are well trained. They won’t kill or capture your President or mine.”  
Kate took the phone, as the meaning of his words finally penetrated deep in her brain which was already flowing with information to relay to Gibbs, the death of Marta. Her own death scene played out in her head also, as did Tony’s. She couldn’t take any more information, but this seemed to play a huge role in what had happened today.  
“Your President?”  
“I am Israeli. Mossad.”  
This new, and helpful, piece of information came to a great surprise to Kate. She had assumed on first meeting him that he was a terrorist, and mostly likely was then and now. Mossad were generally the good guys in Kate’s eyes, but couldn’t take his word for who he said he was. She badly wanted away from this man, and the threat that he could have her if he wanted still dancing in his eyes. She wanted to see Tony, assure herself that he was alive and then slap him over the head for his stupidity. See Gibbs and be safely wrapped up in his arms, never to be let go.  
Dialling the number with visibly shaking fingers and a memory that seemed to not want to recall the number, she made the first steps in getting what she wanted.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When Tobias Fornell arrived at the scene, he wasn’t surprised to already see the NCIS Major Case Response Truck already there, along with Ducky’s van. What he was surprised to see, or not, was Jethro Gibbs’ presence.   
He watched the young brunette agent, who had successfully stood up to him and handle the NCIS cowboys with everything she had in September, grab Agent DiNozzo roughly in a hug before slapping him over the head and yelling at him. Watching as the elderly M.E. comforted her, in a way only he could do, before moving her to the back of the ambulance to be checked over.  
Seeing there wasn’t actually anything for him to do here, he left NCIS to it and took off to the one place he knew he would find Jethro Gibbs.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The news report blaring in the basement was a blatant lie. An apparent shootout between FBI agents and alleged Colombian drug dealers. Gibbs knew it was a crock, Fornell who was sitting on the tall metal stool was a crock. The difference being, Fornell had already spoken to the three directors of each agency, all of them determined to make sure Gibbs didn’t exact his revenge and lead them into more troubles.  
They’d all had their various run ins with Gibbs. Director Morrow had knocked heads with Secret Service and FBI directors before, although that had been an amusing conference, seeing as his agent prevailed in taking the body whereas the other agents had not.   
Mark had sent over Agent Bauer, Kate’s former boss while she was Secret Service, to make sure that their former agent was in good hands and to see how she was handling things. He was with her, as was Agent Sachs of the FBI, while she wrote her report and answered their questions.   
“Suspected drug dealers, huh? Whose idea was that?”  
“Secret Service.”  
“Ah, they give Ari his ’Get Out of Jail For Free’ pass too?”  
“No. CIA did that. But all the Directors agreed. Even yours. Ari’s father was Mossad. Probably knocked his mother up to get a son with Arab blood. Sent him to medical school to vet him as a doctor in Gaza. This guy’s been a sleeper his entire life!”  
“I’d love to put him in a coma.”  
The sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed by Fornell, and he knew that if Gibbs had a chance, he’d do more than put Ari in a coma.  
“Al Qaeda funded this Hamas Op. Ari was just doing what he had to do to make his bones with them.”  
“You tell that to Gerald!”  
“You forget I lost a man and had three wounded.”  
“No. but it seems that you did.”  
“You know better than that.”  
“There is a line, Tobias. That bastard crossed it! You don’t make your bones shooting friends!”  
Their voices were raising in anger with the events happening around them and frustration at each other. They’d always had a volatile relationship, but now Ari was involved, it made Gibbs never want to deal with the FBI ever again; knowing what they knew about Ari.  
“What do you want us to do? He’s inside Al Qaeda!”  
“I don’t know!”  
Gibbs slammed the sandpaper down against the rib of the boat painfully hard, causing a billow of sawdust to cloud over the room. Fornell began coughing and it made Gibbs secretly pleased, to hear him weakened for once. When Fornell reached for the bourbon, it was almost as though he were making an apology, for what he had and hadn’t done today. The basement was silent again as they both sipped on their respective drinks, Fornell choking once again at the strength of the bourbon. Again this pleased Gibbs, and told him that since it was a hundred twenty five proof, it was to be sipped, not gulped.  
“The Directors want your word that you’ll forget about Ari. They think you’ll blow his cover.”  
“If I got payback, it won’t be by blowing his cover. Why are you asking me this and not my director?”  
“He refused to.”  
Gibbs chuckled. He knew Tom didn’t want to get involved with Gibbs when he was headstrong and determined never to back down from anything no matter what. This was the one thing ever director knew Gibbs would make his personal mission to see through to the bitter end; one of them or both of them dying in the process.  
“Yeah. All right, on one condition.”  
“There’s always one condition.”  
Fornell could be so contradictive at times, Gibbs thought. He was twice as bad at ‘one conditions’ as he was.  
“I want to speak to him, in a place of my choosing, alone.”  
“Nobody’s going to go for that.”  
“Ari will.”  
The smug and knowing smile Gibbs wore as he returned to sanding down his boat, made Fornell consider the fact that after all these years, he’d never really understood how deceiving and tricky the man could be. He also knew, once he discovered Gibbs chosen locale, was because Kate was there.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
His heart beats faster in his chest as he boards the elevator down to autopsy. He believes what he will find is real. He knows what he will find is real. It is of no real meaning to him anyway.  
When he arrives at autopsy, he sees the bag lying on the table still zipped up. This is so close to his nightmare it scares him. Ducky isn’t standing in the corner this time, he’d already seen him in the squad room a few minutes ago when he checked in on Kate. He’d been informed that his girl, who was sitting at her desk wrapped in a woollen blanket, was suffering from delayed shock, but he wasn’t to worry as she was in good hands.  
He takes five sure steps towards the table and reaches out with a steady hand to unzip the bag. Again, like his dream, the sound of the zipper is like a shotgun. Pulling back the black and clear PVC sheets in turn, he looks down into the face of a blonde woman.  
Her face is deathly pale.  
Her eyes are open, and they are what assumes to be always cold. Emptiness there too.  
Dead.  
Her face shows pain, and slight shock. He hears movement and turns his to look up at Ari standing in the corner. There’s a conversation that passes between them, but he doesn’t really remember it.  
Pieces of it will come to him later when he comforts Kate as she has nightmares of her own death. Pieces of it will come to him now, as he walks away.  
Gibbs knew that if Ari posed Marta as a double agent to Hamas, he posed the threat to himself of dying if they didn’t believe him. Ari retorted with the fact that if they did, he would learn what they were planning as the next Nine Eleven.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Would you risk losing that opportunity to pride?”  
“It’s not pride.”  
“If not pride, then what? Love of country? Sense of duty? I’m sure those exist in you. But what burns is pride, my friend. Shalom.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
What he does remember is placing the barrel of his sig against Ari’s shoulder and blowing it out, telling him it was to help him convince Al Qaeda. Whether it were the fact Ari dared call him friend, or if he was taking the first step in exacting his revenge, and the promise of meeting him again, he took it.   
He leaves him lying on the floor, hearing him begin to chuckle as he steps in to the elevator and goes back to his Katie.  
Both men know that if they ever cross paths again, one or the other or both will die.   
Whether it be for country, for pride, for revenge or for pure egotistical reasons.   
One of them will die. Both are adamant in won’t be them but the other.   
One dreads the day he ever sees that man in his way again but is all for the killing.  
One is greatly looking forward to it.


	9. Hard To Forget

Hard To Forget  
Cause if it wasn’t for all that you tried to do  
I wouldn’t know just how capable I am to pull through  
So I wanna say thank you cause it  
Makes me that much stronger, makes me work a little bit harder  
It makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter  
Made me learn a little bit faster, made my skin a little bit thicker  
It makes me that much smarter, so thanks for making me a fighter

When he stepped off the elevator, Gibbs wasn’t surprised to see another huddle around a desk; they were there for her. He walked slowly over to the group, knowing that she wanted him, but waited and watched as Agent William Baer from the Secret Service gave her a comforting pat on the knee. She looked up at him and nodded her head in compliance with what he was saying, before lowering her head to her chest again. Baer stood back from her, faithful she’d be okay in time.  
He’d always put a great deal of faith in Kate, from the moment he met her back in 2001, when she was only twenty seven. She hadn’t nearly half the experience he had, but despite this and the troubles she faced being a female in a largely male dominated environment, she had become the youngest agent to be assigned to POTUS Protection Detail. This caused a great deal of jealousy throughout the agency, but they, like everyone who met her, all quickly came to realise she deserved her clearance aboard AFO and had definite potential.  
Baer seen that since she’d joined NCIS seven months previous, she’d grown in a way she possibly wouldn’t have with him, and had taken to her current predicament in the way he hoped and knew she would. He took the time to speak to Tom Morrow, before he headed in Gibbs’ direction and nodded his head accordingly at him as he walked towards the elevators.  
Gibbs waited once again, long enough he felt for her to sense his presence through the torrent of emotions she was feeling and hiding well. Everyone except the person he most wanted to notice him did and they began to back away from her desk, allowing her the space she needed and room for him to pass through.  
It was the first time since she’d been recovered that he got to take a look at her. Her once perfect clothes were wrinkled and hanging from her body. Her hair was dishevelled from constantly pushing it from her eyes and her makeup was smudged. She depicted a woman at rock bottom and he hoped to god she could recover from this event.  
He see’s the crimson crescent moon shaped cut on her lip that wasn’t there that morning, nor was the bruising and slight swelling that surrounded the area. It cut him deeply to see her so withdrawn and shutdown the way she was.  
He crouched down before her, hands resting lightly on her knees and she finally looked up at him. When her mind finally registered the fact it was him, her eyes began to water with tears and her lower lip trembled. Gibbs knew instantly that she had been affected more than she dared to let on to anyone else, because it took a hell of a lot to make Kate a wreck the way she was.  
He locked eyes with her as he stood, his knees stiffened from kneeling and Kate felt more saddened from the loss of contact than she had all day. She was able to keep her emotions in check long enough to continue her charade of the unaffected agent, but lost her fight when she felt his hand wrap around hers and pull her gently up from the chair.  
“I’m taking you home.”  
Unable to speak, she simply nodded her head numbly and tightened her grip in his hand. Neither were very big on public displays of affection, especially in front of their colleagues and agency director, but when they dared to break eye contact, they noticed the entire room was empty; their friends and colleagues giving them some privacy.  
“I’m sorry.”  
He was stunned, to say the least, at Kate’s hushed apology which there was really no need for. Gibbs knew she needed to take the blame, she felt it was her fault. Everyone, including Kate, knew it wasn’t but still there was a need inside her to apologise for her actions. Looking at her hand in his, Gibbs wanted to do more. Seeing her so small and helpless beside him prompted Gibbs to pull her into his arms, regardless of anyone around them, oblivious to whoever was there.  
She didn’t quite cry as he held her, though she badly wanted to. Kate’s emotional stability was slowly crumbling, however, as she grabbed at his shirt and jacket for something, anything to steady herself with. She didn’t want to rely too heavily, or at all, on him to see her through this. She hadn’t needed to the first time she encountered Ari and was pretty certain she didn’t need to now. But knowing he was there for her, to see her through it and cry it out made her condition deteriorate faster, and suddenly Gibbs had the pressing need to take her away from their work environment to the safe confines of home.   
“Let’s go home.”  
“Please.”   
Gibbs shifted his hands slightly, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. He didn’t want to let her go for a second, but Kate moved so she was standing by his side with his arm around her waist. She leaned into his shoulder and ran a hand smoothly down his chest as he picked up her jacket and bag and led her away.  
The shaking woman he held in his arms as they rode down in the elevator, passed the security guard in the hall and walked to the car unequivocally and undeniably scared him. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this, and he was terrified.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When Gibbs pulled into the driveway, he looked over and noticed that Kate had fallen asleep, the blanket pulled up to her chin. Her face was turned towards him and the cut on her lip bothered him. Someone had hurt her, again, and he was making it his mission to once again find that person. He knew that several people had been taken by the FBI, and he hoped to god that one of them was the person who hurt Kate.  
He got out the car as quietly and gently as possible, going round to Kate’s side. He slid her easily from the car into his arms, closing the door with his hip and moving toward the house. She woke slightly with the movement, but settled again once she had found a more comfortable position in his arms. He wondered if perhaps Ducky had given her something to allow her a peaceful sleep that night, and would like to thank the man if he had taken it upon himself to do so.   
When he got her into the house, Gibbs took a moment to consider his options. He could take Kate upstairs and lay her on the bed while he pottered about in his basement or he could take her into the living room and sit with her asleep in his arms, possibly joining her in the sleep.  
His worry at losing Kate had really taken it out of him and he decided he’d stay with her in the living room and allow his guard to be dropped if only for a short time. Kate was with him and she was safe, that’s all that mattered.  
He sat down smoothly, holding her tight as he adjusted himself more comfortably and smiled to himself as she unconsciously kicked her shoes off, her legs stretching out the full length of the couch and turning her body more against his. The day was slowly catching up to him, and Leroy Jethro Gibbs could not be happier at having safely recovered his Kate and holding her in his arms than he was now. Never before in his life had he relished the feel of her body against his, her breath softly hitting his neck, her small hand wound tightly in his shirt front and her chest slowly rising and falling.   
Gibbs was worried deep in his bones that Kate’s second encounter with Ari had affected her more than she was willing to admit to herself and he was fairly adamant that the next time, if ever, he encountered that bastard again, he would protect Kate within an inch of his own life. He looked down on her as she slept, wondering how she could be so still and calm like this, knowing when she woke up she’d once again be a nervous wreck. He let his head fall back against the couch, and solemnly promised whoever was listening that he would never let any harm befall this woman again, no matter what the cost.  
Kate stirring in his arms pulled him from his thoughts and he returned his gaze to her, noting that her brow had creased, guessing that something or someone had intruded in her peace. She started struggling in his arms, desperate to break free and Gibbs suddenly realised who had intruded in her peace when the silence in the room was broken by her scared mutterings.  
“Get Gibbs…Want Gibbs…Save him…”  
“Baby, I’m here.”  
“Stop…don’t…Jethro…”  
He watches the steady tears roll down her cheeks and he swiftly brushed them away with his thumb; his movement startled her from her sleep and she jumped in his arms, her eyes snapping open to meet concerned ice blue staring back at her. She stared up at him for a moment, not sure whether she was dreaming or if he were really with her before letting out the breath neither knew she was holding; Gibbs had a sneaking suspicion that her subtly shaking body was due to oxygen deprivation on her part and he moved her so she was instead sitting in his lap instead of lying.   
Pulling her knees up to her chest, effectively collapsing on herself, Kate wrapped her arms around Gibbs’ neck and held on for dear life, her feet coming up to firmly plant on his right thigh. She was so compacted on herself that Gibbs was able to wrap both arms around her and still be able to have one hand running through her hair and the other to come around her knees and securely land on her back, stroking smoothly down the centre of her spine. It wasn’t long before he felt soft tears roll down the side of his neck, under the collar of his shirt and continue down his back and chest; Kate had realized what had happened today.   
*~*~*~*~*~*   
Kate was numb. She never felt the emotions she should have after an incident like this. She didn’t feel the pain associated with the cut on her lip, she didn’t feel the worry or fear of having nearly lost her life due to her attitude and insolence towards her captors. She didn’t feel grateful toward the man who had taken the gun and saved her. And she didn’t feel guilt for the blonde having lost her life. What she did feel was emptiness. It flowed through her body with the blood in her veins and it touched every part of her; it didn’t escape her attention that her heart remained untouched.  
She didn’t quite register Gibbs moving her left hand and undoing her watch, or unclipping her badge and phone from her waist. She could still feel Ari’s lingering gaze on her body, as well as his touch and as much as she wanted to move and take a shower, Kate was far too comfortable sitting with Gibbs, not moving, not talking.   
“Don’t make me move, please.”  
“Wasn’t gonna. I was gonna carry you and dump you in the shower…fully clothed.”  
With a semi-audible grumble, Kate placed a chaste kiss to Gibbs neck and pushed herself off his lap, sinking into the cushions beside him. He watched her for a full minute, silently analysing her state of mind and feeling her toes flex against his thigh. He took her right leg in his hands and slowly began massaging the tension from her foot and calf, feeling the heaviness of her muscles lighten tremendously. He lowered her leg and applied the same treatment to the other before leaning over her slightly and softly brushing his thumb over her battered lip.   
He sat back when she extended an arm, a sign to help her up, and he took her hand in his and pulled her up as she swung her legs from his and down to the floor. Resting her elbows on her knees, she ran her hands through her hair and held her head between her palms for a moment before standing with steady steps and moving to the downstairs bathroom. He watched her leave and waited until he heard the water running before he moved into the kitchen to pour two large bourbons and heading into the laundry room, which Kate adored because it was small and, to her, intimate, and retrieved a set of clean clothes he knew she’d washed the evening before and were ready to be put away. At the last minute, he returned to the laundry room to retrieve a set of clothes for himself, fully intent on joining her as she showered and also grabbed her red towelling robe as an afterthought.   
When Gibbs entered the bathroom, clothes thrown over one arm and a glass of each bourbon in each hand, he fully expected to find Kate already in the shower. Instead he found her leaning against the counter inspecting her lip in the mirror with sad eyes. She lowered her gaze, giving a self-deprecating smirk and turned to face the man who joined her silently.   
“I’m fine. Really.”  
“I know.”  
“I just…I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.”  
Gibbs sighed heavily. Walking towards her he placed the glasses and clothes on the counter behind her and took Kate into his arms. Neither one knew what to do and so they hit a brick wall with no where to turn.   
“It’s my fault, Jethro. If I had called for backup…maybe I wouldn’t have been taken. He pissed me off and I just wanted to get him.”  
He understood Kate’s need to get revenge, not only for herself for being violated the way she had, but for Gibbs and for Gerald. That man had hurt his team to a point where they no longer knew what they were doing when it involved him, and Gibbs wanted to make sure Kate got her revenge.   
“We will get him, Kate. I’ll make sure of it.”  
“When, Jethro? Who has to die in order for him to get what he deserves? Me? You? Both of us? Hell, why not just do it now, it’s what he wants.”  
Gibbs had seen Kate in this condition some months ago when they first encountered Ari, but back then she was determined to get him and exact her revenge, now she was giving up. She would rather be dead than have to face Ari again and it scared the hell out of him.  
“Don’t you ever let me hear you say that again, Caitlin! I am not going to let you die because of him, you got it? No one, I repeat no one, is going to die because of him. He will die because of us. What you did today, was what you were supposed to do. And we both know you‘re extremely lucky to come away with only a split lip.”  
“I know. I just…”  
Kate growled before she pushed herself from Gibbs arms and began undressing in order to step in the shower. If she were crazy enough she would’ve stepped in fully clothed, but she happened to like the outfit she was wearing and didn’t want it completely wrecked. Gibbs followed her in a few minutes later and stood with her under the hot stream of water, washing away the days problems, insecurities and memories.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
She wrapped herself in the large white fluffy towel and began giving her hair the most cursory of rub downs. She just wanted to forget everything and after spotting the glass of bourbon, Kate sought the comfort of drowning her sorrows. He stood behind her with a similar towel around his waist and watched her reflection in the mirror as she knocked the glass back, draining it in one go. He’d never seen Kate even attempt to try hard liquor, this was giving him a clear insight to her mind right now. Exchanging the empty glass for the full one, she handed it back to him before turning to face him.  
He replaced the glass on the counter, watching Kate as she ran her hands through the mass of steadily drying dark locks which was beginning to curl softly. When she didn’t take the hairdryer, paddle brush and straighteners to her hair immediately, it would fall the way of naturally full and bouncy curls, the same way she had in Gitmo that first morning. Smiling slightly, he took her wrists and brought her arms down to her sides and wrapped his arms fully round her waist.  
Gibbs discovered early into their relationship that Kate required touch to hold her together, she needed people. Whether she wrapped her arms around herself or whether she went to someone, being held in strong arms was all she needed to keep a level head and maintain a clear perspective. It was never easy to do within the walls of the office, both still trying to maintain their professionalism, but the second they got behind closed doors their guards were dropped, he held her like there was no tomorrow. This was something she needed now, she needed to know she wasn’t alone in the world and that if she ever fell, someone was there to catch her.  
A chaste kiss to the others throat and the disentanglement of limbs, Gibbs pulled back and propped her up on the counter top and tilted her head into the light, delicately inspecting her war wound. In the shower he had noticed the beginning of bruises on both her arms, and he assumed that was where she’d been grabbed and thrown about by Ari and his assistants.   
“What did he do to you, baby girl?”  
“He didn’t do anything.”  
“That explains the bruises and battered lip, Kate.”  
Gibbs was slightly distracted as he rooted about in the medicine cabinet behind Kate’s head, looking for the first aid kit he knew he owned. There wasn’t much he could actually do, but antiseptic and Arnica creams were better than nothing. Kate fidgeted beside him trying to get a better look at the bruises on the back of both her arms.  
“The bruises are from when I was taken from the car. The lip is because I told them who you were.”  
“Told who? Sit still.”  
“The driver of the car. When you called, they asked who you were and I told the truth. Well, I twisted it a little and now you work in Iraq. Apparently, they didn’t seem to believe me.”  
Gibbs chuckled a little and moved to spread a little antiseptic cream on Kate’s lip, causing her to squirm and hiss under his touch. He laughed again, having only thought DiNozzo behaved like a child when his wounds were being treated but apparently that was not the case. Kate it seemed didn’t find anything about the situation funny, and chose to display this by slapping him over the back of the head when he went to return his medical box.  
“What was that for?”  
“Laughing. What is so funny about this?”  
“Nothing. I just…I had to laugh. If I didn’t I think I might have cried.”  
The thought of seeing a former Marine, this former Marine crying sent Kate into a downspin as she leant into his shoulder, trying to muffle her own laughter. They’d both been in this position before the first time they encountered Ari Haswari. They’d both felt equally useless and both been absolutely terrified. One small gesture had saved them from they potential harm they could do to themselves, but neither had any idea how to pick themselves up from the ground now. There was every possibility that right now if they didn’t laugh, there was every likelihood that they would cry.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs was as comfortable as he could be with his girlfriend laying the full length of him. Her head was tucked under his chin and if he breathed right he smelt her peach shampoo and jasmine body lotion. Her Escada perfume had worn off throughout the day and all that was left on her was the combined scents of her soaps and lotions.   
Kate remained silent where she was, her stomach full of good food which Gibbs had ordered in and her eyes were slowly drooping. Gibbs discovered that Ducky had indeed told Kate that if she were to get any sleep that night, then one sleeping tablet should prove helpful, in failing that another should be taken before bed. The remains of the first tablet were still in her system and she had decided that it was a very bad idea to continue drinking alcohol while under the influence of a heavy dose of medication.   
She herself was happy where she was with Gibbs arms wrapped fully around her waist and didn‘t intend on moving anywhere in the next few minutes; there was no where for her to go besides that bathroom and bed. Neither of which appealed to Kate currently.  
“Jethro?”  
“Hmm?”  
“I’m sorry. And I’m only going to say this one more time, and then I’ll shut up; it was a probie mistake. I should’ve known better and I shouldn’t have chased him the way I did. I know protocol, I should have stuck to it.”  
“Hey, I’ve told you before; you did everything you could. Think about it, if you hadn’t gone after him, we wouldn’t have the information we do now. You, Katie, are responsible for a handful of terrorists being sent to Gitmo. You are responsible for having saved the lives of Bush and Sharon. And you are not responsible for any fallout of Ari’s actions.”  
“I know all that. But that woman died, and I could have died.”  
“But you didn’t and you won’t. I promise you that. I‘ll keep you safe.”  
“That’s good to know. I’ve got your back too, Jethro.”  
“Well, I for one feel a lot safer knowing that my girlfriend, who knows extensive protection detail, has got my back. We’ve got each other, baby girl, and nothing is ever going to change that.”  
“You called me your girlfriend.”  
“So? That’s what you are.”  
Kate couldn’t see the frown adorning Gibbs face, but she could tell he was thinking hard about what he’d called her. She was used to calling him her ‘boyfriend’ and he was used to hearing it, but Gibbs had never fully associated Kate with that word.   
Men could be really obtuse sometimes.  
Rolling her eyes at the ceiling, Kate manoeuvred herself so she was lying chest to chest with Gibbs, her hands planted firmly either side of his head. When she looked down into his eyes, she realised then he’d named her his girlfriend deliberately, just so she knew she was a firm fixture in his life.  
“I thought it was only DiNozzo who screwed with me.”  
“Nuh-uh. Only I screw with you.”  
His words caught her off-guard and Kate merely rolled her eyes again, smirking knowingly and leaning down for a quick kiss before scooting down his body, her head coming to rest under his chin again. The tie on the red robe had come undone and Kate made no move to fix it nor had she any desire to go to bed. Sensing neither of them were going to make it upstairs any time soon, Gibbs pulled the throw from the back of the couch over them before slipping his hands underneath and around Kate, holding her tighter to him.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It was the aroma of extra strong coffee followed by the harsh sunlight filtering through the bay window that initially woke Kate up the next morning. Kate groaned and rolled onto her stomach, wrapping her arms over her head; she hated bright mornings and they reminded her too much of the Beach Boys; too happy and sunny for her liking. Rolling onto her back again, she shifted her hips feeling the lump underneath her back and reached down to pull out the robe that had been discarded somewhere throughout the night. She could hear Gibbs shuffling about the kitchen and decided to make a move when he came through and placed a mug on the coffee table.  
“Hi. I thought you might need a morning pick me up.”  
Kate smirked slightly and turned her eyes towards the ceiling. Pushing herself into a sitting position, Kate fell against the back rest and squinted at Gibbs through half shut eyes. Gibbs silently chuckled as he watched her attempt to wake up without resorting to the proffered beverage. Her brow furrowed and her nose wrinkled, a sign of a fast approaching headache. And judging by her reaction it was going to be a strong one.   
She was still feeling guilty and bitter about the way things turned out yesterday, that much was clear in her body language, but Gibbs didn’t know how to take that guilt away. He knew she’d eventually believe what he told her about it not being her fault, and that it was her who got the handful of terrorists sent to Gitmo and that she saved the lives of the President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon.   
“What are we doing today?”  
“That, Kate, is entirely up to you. Although, I did have a little something planned.”  
Kate finally opened her eyes properly, intrigued by what Gibbs was saying and wanting a hit of caffeine at the same time. She leant forward and took the mug off the table, and studying Gibbs with a critical eye as she tried to determine any changes to him or if she could guess what he was up to. When she could gather no conclusive evidence of anything, she smiled and relaxed back into the cushions.   
“So what do you have planned?”  
Gibbs usual smirk appeared as he moved from his seat on the coffee table to beside Kate, leaning in to whisper conspiringly as if he held all the secrets of the world; knowing Gibbs he probably did.  
“Well, I was gonna make you breakfast, then take you shopping-”  
“Shopping?”  
“Yeah, don’t you want to?”  
“No, no. We’ll go shopping.”  
“Good, cause you would ruin my plan otherwise. So once we got back, I’d make you lunch and we’d…relax… have dinner and then maybe…I’d propose.”  
Kate, seemingly oblivious to what had just been said, nodded her head tiredly in agreement and took a sip of coffee before leaning into Gibbs’ shoulder; coffee mug coming to rest on her knee. Gibbs looked down at the head resting on his shoulder, smiling, waiting for everything to make sense, waiting for it to hit home. The second it did, it was priceless.  
The liquid in the mug slowly began vibrating and the mug gently slipped from Kate’s knee to the floor, coffee spilling everywhere. She sat quietly for a few minutes, her jaw practically hitting the floor before she turned her head towards Gibbs, her eyes questioning.  
“Yes, Katie, I really did say that.”  
“You’re proposing marriage?”  
“Yes. Yesterday it hit me what life would be like without you. Even if it was just for a few hours, I couldn’t take it. I need you, you keep me grounded and you understand me without even trying. I promised myself I wouldn’t make you number four, swore down dead it would never happen; but here I am and here you are and I am asking, in my crazy way, for you to be my wife. The only promise I can make now is never to make you the fourth ex Mrs. Gibbs.”  
Kate took everything he was saying in, processing it all slowly and coming to one conclusion. There was no way she could say no. She liked being there for him when he needed her, she liked keeping him grounded and she liked spending hour upon hour with him. Strike that; she loved it. She loved him. They may have only been dating for two months, maybe less, but there was only one direction for them.  
“Don’t know why I’m shaking like this, it’s not my first proposal.”  
“It’s not?”  
Kate lowered her eyes and shook her head, inadvertently conjuring up old painful memories of her first fiancé. He’d been a charmer, totally adoring, and also for lack of better word, a man whore. By the beginning of their second week of engagement, he’d already slept with half the law students in her class and showed no sign of stopping just because he was supposedly getting married.   
What Kate didn’t want to believe was that he was capable of doing it, not listening to the locker room gossip at the swimming pool, not questioning it when she found the appointment cards in his name for the STD clinic on top of her dresser. She was young and in love, her heart was naturally up for attack in her innocence, and it certainly took a severe blow that year. It wasn’t until she actually witnessed it with her own eyes did she believe what everyone had been trying to tell her for months; since the day she started seeing him in fact. She booked an emergency appointment at the clinic for herself immediately after leaving the room.  
“No. I was engaged for two months in law school; he cheated, I caught him. So clichéd it’s unbelievable. He’s one of the reasons I left.”  
“Is that why you weirded out when that woman asked if you were married a few weeks ago?”  
“Yeah. It just made me think that a long time ago that would’ve been me; it was me to a certain point. But you know what, that’s in the past and I am done with it. In reference to your thinly veiled question, you already know my answer.”  
Kate’s affection predictability meant that Gibbs knew when she was going to throw her arms around his neck, and when she was going to make a move to straddle his lap and when she would eventually plant her mouth squarely over his. Soon she was kissing his forehead, his nose, his cheeks and chin, occasionally telling him in between that she would definitely marry him and nothing in the world would stop her.  
When the kissing eventually drew to a minimum, Gibbs leant back and watched Kate just for the simple fact he could. Kate moved with him, keeping body contact to a maximum and watched him for the same reasons.   
“So how do you like being tied to this grumpy old bastard for the rest of your life?”  
“Don’t know any grumpy old bastards, but I’ll have you any day.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Brenda-Leigh Todd couldn’t have been more thrilled when on the eve of May 30th, her youngest baby phoned and told her she was getting married. With the help of her son, Christian, she was able to open her emails and view the newest image to add to her collection: her baby girl Caitlin wrapped up in the arms of her new fiancé, Jethro Gibbs. She admitted, Jethro wasn’t typically the type her daughter went for, he was clearly far older than Caitlin but was assured not ‘considerably older‘ than 37, and according to some of her daughters earlier emails, had a gruff disposition and wasn‘t the easiest person in the world to have a conversation with. It seemed the Todd perseverance and determination had paid off for young Caitlin and she was settling down at long last. All this aside, her daughter was happy and that’s all that mattered. She was still worried, however, as the last time Caitlin got this serious in a relationship it ended badly. Sean Davies broke her heart two months after proposing; she’d walked in on him and her best friend and only stopped in the room long enough to throw the ring in his face.  
Her four other children; Christian, Richard, Sean and Lorraine were at first shocked at the news that their baby sister was marrying a fifty odd year old man, a man twenty-two years her senior, but that soon disintegrated into happiness for their younger sibling. None of the Todd family could wait to finally meet the man who had stolen Kate’s heart, and were certainly thrilled to be told they all welcome to come and stay a week before the wedding date.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Abby reacted predictably and several bear hugs later, Kate was able to escape the lab to find Tony and McGee and receive more hugs and congratulations as it seemed Gibbs had beaten her to the punch. She found Gibbs moments later when she entered autopsy and was able to tell Ducky, alongside Gibbs, of their good news. The doctor couldn’t have been more thrilled than the other two at the fact their surly bastard of a boss was finally happy, making another attempt at marriage and knowing this one would last a lifetime.


	10. Keep Your Enemies Close

A/N: The next 8 chapters will all be written in the 3rd person. Try and guess who it is. Things are mentioned in the following chapters that won’t make any sense but will further on.

Keep Your Enemies Close  
His eyes said it all I started to fall  
And the silence deafened  
Head spinning round no time to sit down  
Just wanted to run and run and run  
Be careful they say don’t wish life away  
Now I’ve one day

It’s the little things he does that caught your attention. They weren’t as obvious in the beginning, but now you see them as exactly that; attention seeking. It’s been roughly two months since you married Gibbs, and as great as it’s been, Tony’s attitude has been bothering you.   
It’s also been roughly two months since your little confession, which you don’t really want to think about right now, because there’s just too much going on for you to deal with it. Big deal; you told Tony, move on.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It started in the gym that morning, when you were stretching out for your workout. It was your typical warm up, one that Tony had ogled from afar every time you’d done it, but it had been different somehow; you couldn’t feel his eyes on you. You felt McGee watching and you decided to have some fun with him, knowing once Tony caught on there’d be no stopping the two of you.  
You manipulated your body easily into a difficult stretch; legs spread wide either side of you and you blessed your mother for all those forced years of ballet and gymnastics. Of course, the yoga and Pilates you do these days is far more helpful, but still.  
When you learned Jethro was pairing you with McGee that morning, you were slightly disappointed. Every part of you wanted to grapple with him and take the moves you’d taught him in the bedroom into the gym but some part of you wanted to roll around with Tony. Just to prove to yourself he hadn’t really changed at all. That when and if he pinned you to the mat and was hovering above you he could still make comments and innuendos. You miss that; it’s changed since you got married.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When McGee finally got you pinned, Tony finally made a typical DiNozzo comment. Or at least you thought he was going to. You asked McGee why he’d been holding back and he was on the verge of stating because he’d never wrestled a girl before. You turned your attention to Tony and asked if you looked like a girl; you expected him to retort with one of his usual comments about how you were definitely not a girl, but instead he said all he could see was two NCIS Special Agents.  
Where the hell did that come from?  
Since when did Tony think before speaking? And more importantly, when did he agree with you on things? The man is so damn frustrating with his change in moods and characters that you don’t know where you stand with him anymore. Right now, you wish you were still on honeymoon in the Catskills.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Jethro’s idea, of course. He somehow worked the system, got the entire team off for a week and whisked you off to a log cabin in the woods. It was romantic and perfect. There was absolutely no cell phone reception, no touristy people, no dead marines. It was totally perfect. Three whole days locked away from the world, with no one but Jethro Gibbs by your side.  
Still, it didn’t stop you from worrying about Tony.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tony’s attitude towards you this case started getting weirder.   
When you were on the range at Quantico, he teamed up with you in hazing McGee; which you thoroughly enjoyed. Not only did it give you a chance to get back at McGee, again, for looking up your skirt that time, but it gave you a chance to get an insight into what Tony was thinking.  
You think you’ve got the art learned.  
If he’s nice, pleasant and happy to make small talk that means he’s worried over something. It also means he’s being Tony, the respectable teen.  
If he’s rude, childish and disgusting that means that he’s okay and nothing’s wrong with him. This also means he’s being DiNozzo, the immature kid.  
You don’t want to even think about when he’s angry because you’ve never actually seen it, and don’t really want to either. You figure this will be him being Anthony, the responsible adult.  
You done the same in the office, well, it was really Tony himself, but you laughed with him. Then when the call from De Luca came in, you said something to Tony and he made a mention of Gibbs second ex-wife, as if he was trying to rile you up.  
You never took the bait, though he was clearly wanting you to. It was as if he wanted to get into a fight with you. Instead you just walked away and gave him a look.   
You still desperately want to know what’s wrong with him.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When the boys from the FBI came over, he was protective of you. Especially from Agent Charles, who as it turned out, was the twisted evil one. There was a moment when Charles asked what Tony would do if it were one of his team on the slab. He was silent, looked at you and said it depended on who it was.   
You know, that if it were any of your team on the slab you’d go after them with only one thing in mind. But you don’t know how you would react if it were Jethro or Tony.  
It’s been the three of you since you joined; you’ve had their backs and they’ve had yours. The respect you have for them isn’t the same that you have for McGee or Abby or Ducky; it’s different somehow.   
But the love you have for Jethro is different to the love you have for Tony. You don’t know why, it just is.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Two words: Jerry Springer.  
Another two: Paternity Clinic.  
When McGee rushed in knowing how to get the DNA samples you needed, you were on board right away. You knew it would be easy. Just act like those couples you see all the time on Jerry Springer or Ricki. Easy, right?  
Maybe it’s because McGee is still a Probie and didn’t have the same level of experience, or maybe it was something else and you’ll probably never know. But the second he realised you’d be going undercover with McGee, Tony flew into action and availed his services instead. His reason was that no one would believe McGee had slept with you, and while that’s true to some extent, why did he think that people would believe you had slept with him.  
But going to the clinic with him was fun. You got to fight with him, in a trashy kinda way, and throw chewing gum at him. Definitely fun.  
He even said as much to you back in the lab, or rather in his words, ‘we make a good couple’. Yeah, you make a great couple. You can barely stand him on the best of days, you imagined that’s how an actual relationship with him would be; constant fighting. Plus, the trust factor. You’d have to really trust someone with DiNozzo’s reputation.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
That night once the feds came for Charles’ body and Gibbs escorted Rickey back to the office, Tony drove you back. You were both silent, lost in your thoughts over the case, marriage, the girl you (him) were going to hook up with tonight. You wanted to confront whatever it was that was wrong. Just get it all out in the open, talk it through, make amends for things that had been said and unsaid. You just wanted Tony back. He clearly sensed this as he drove faster and got back to the office quicker, to stop you from making an idiot of yourself.   
You just don’t know what to do with him, but you hope whatever’s up with him he can work out.


	11. To Protect And Serve

To Protect And Serve  
Her disguise is specialized  
And her code is confidential  
It’s her modus operandi  
She’s a threat, makes you sweat  
As she drags her cigarette  
Man what you see  
Ain’t always what you get

You’ve got that damn song stuck in your head, you can’t help it. Not only is it catchy, but it’s part of one of the greatest moments of your life. An outrageous moment if you will. You know you won’t forget this any time soon. It doesn’t even matter that at the end of the day that kid got your sunglasses, you were still able to smile.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You know she’s been trying to figure out what’s wrong with you for weeks. You want to tell her that what she told you has screwed your mind so royally you can hardly think straight, but you can’t do that. If you do that, she’ll feel guilty for putting you through such turmoil and then she’ll do everything in her power to make it right.  
You can’t make this right.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You’ve been keeping up with the banter and what not, and some aspects of your relationship have remained the same. You can still piss her off, and get her to join in with harassing Probie, but every now and then you catch her giving you a look. In fact, it’s now called The Look.  
The Look has only been given to you on rare occasions, when you’ve been really badly hurt or Gibbs has been too harsh with you. The Look says she wants to mother you, that she’s concerned. It would be okay if that meant tucking you up in bed with a bowl of chicken soup, like you were ill or something. This look means something different than that kind of mothering.   
Kate’s mothering means talking. About how you feel. About what worries you. And then she’ll make you want to do something about it. But you can’t do anything about this. You’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of doing something about this.  
Maybe you should talk to Ducky?  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You were right that going for a run that morning was a bad idea. Very bad. Of course, this was Kate, and there were two of them. Her and the Commander were adamant that they were going out and you aren’t usually one to stand in the way of women. They gang up and get evil and threaten to do things to a valuable piece of your anatomy, which you are rather fond of.  
You were also right about Kate. Well, technically, she was the one that stated the Commander was like a female Gibbs. So, yeah, since Kate is now Mrs Gibbs you were right. Kate is the female version of Gibbs, because she already has a habit of hitting you and screaming your name. Just as long as she doesn’t start doing the creepy thing that he does, you’ll be fine. You’d hate for her to sneak up on you the way he does, cause that’s just wrong.  
Maybe she already does it and you just haven’t noticed yet?  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The night before the FBI decided to play spies, you got into an argument over who was where. And about the toilet seat. You needed this attitude, the playfulness, because it‘s been missing for some time. You even managed to make an innuendo which no one noticed, thankfully. You’re pretty sure that if the second meaning of your words had been understood, Gibbs would’ve given you and extra hard slap; the one he reserves for really special occasions. So while she took the front and you demanded to take the rear, you slipped in a small term of endearment; you called her dear. Kate dear to be precise. She was either too pissed off with you or she didn’t notice the slip because she never said a word about it. When Gibbs vanished to take a call, you had a stare out.   
It was still in her eyes that she wanted to talk things out with you. You could have talked, but really you’d be blaming her for confessing to you in the first place. You often think that if she hadn’t told you then you wouldn’t be in this mess, but if she hadn’t told you first, then you wouldn’t have told her. It would’ve been easier if neither of you said anything; you wouldn’t be in this mess.


	12. Innocence Lost

Innocence Lost  
I miss those days and I miss those ways  
When I got lost in fantasies in a cartoon land of mysteries  
In a place you won’t grow old in a place you won’t feel cold  
And I’ll say  
Seems I’m lost in my reflection, find a star for my direction  
For the little girl inside who won’t just hide, don’t let me see mistakes and lies  
Let me keep my faith and innocent eyes

She won’t talk to you. Is it any wonder the way you were with her?  
You could’ve told her she was just doing her job, that she shouldn’t let it affect her. But no. You told her, in the harshest way possible, to get over it. In fact, your actual words were ‘It was suicide by cop, Kate. Get over it.’ And you’re in your basement wondering why she won’t look at you for any length of time?  
You’ve reasoned with yourself, that you had to be that harsh with her because she can’t feel guilty. She has to understand that it comes with the territory. If she let the death of Ensign Hayes get to her, then the guilt would eat away at her and she’d suffer, her work would suffer, and eventually she’d give up on herself and life.  
You couldn’t let that happen to her. You love her too much to see her hurt like that.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you got home, just one hour after she’d left, you found her in the living room. There was a cup of tea on the table and a blanket round her shoulders. The sight was reminiscent of the night you got together with her. You went and sat beside her, but she kept her attention on the book she was reading, telling you in short words that your dinner was in the oven if you wanted it. You tried to apologize, but she walked away.  
You have to let her work through it herself. Let her understand that the way you treated her was for her own good. You want to know where she went once the case was solved. She had the chance to go to the opera with Ducky, you know she would’ve loved it, but she had vanished.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Carol came over the other night to help with the boat. Your two women seem to get along, and you like that. You would’ve hated to have Carol around if she was hated by your wife. None of your other three wives liked her all that much, then again, they didn’t know the story. You told them that she was an old friend, that you were catching up on old times. Only Kate knows. You think maybe you should call Carol and get her to talk to her.   
But if you went behind Kate’s back like that, then she’d really never talk to you again.  
She’s worried enough about being charged with manslaughter, about what the report will say and the fact that this little incident will go in her file. Even though she done everything by the book, it still won’t squash the fear she’s got.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you leave the basement after spending only an hour on the boat, you find her sitting in the kitchen this time. She looks up at you with such sad eyes that your heart breaks. You know hers is already over the fact you could be so indifferent to her dilemma.   
You want to take her in your arms and tell her that you’re sorry and that everything will be okay. You want her to believe that nothing will happen to her, she won’t be prosecuted for her actions. You want her to open up to you.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you finally drag her out of the kitchen and up to bed, she’s half asleep. She tells you she was in autopsy, praying and grieving for someone she didn’t know. Praying for her sins. Grieving for a part of herself that died when she fired that bullet, when she learned the truth.  
It all makes sense to you now, and you know there’s nothing you can do or say that will get that piece of her back. Nothing you can do to make her feel better about the situation. She went through the same process after the Suzanne McNeill incident, but you weren’t there to hold her, or comfort her or tell her she’d be fine.  
You’re here now, and she’s all you need and you’re all she needs.  
She’ll get through this with you beside her.  
She’s finally opened up to you.


	13. Losing My Religion

Losing My Religion  
That’s me in the corner  
That’s me in the spotlight  
Losing my religion  
Trying to keep up with you  
And I don’t know if I can do it  
Oh no I’ve said too much

You screwed up. Royally. For the second time in as many weeks, you screwed up. Ducky says that you don’t need to apologise to him, but you do anyway. Countless times since getting him back. Because of your incompetence he could have died!  
You don’t know what’s gotten into you; you can’t seem to do anything right these days. Bad luck seems to just follow you around.   
You have to admit, getting you to go after Mrs Mallard while they took Ducky took some planning. How did they know that someone would be in the house watching them? How did they know that you’d be on protection detail?   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The morning after you lost him, Jethro practically admitted his own wrong doing. He admitted he was wrong, that it was his fault. You know protection detail, you should have insisted that there be someone else in the house with you watching the mother while you watched Ducky. You were alone and you thought you could handle just one night. That’s all you had to do. Keep him safe for one night and everything would be okay, Ducky would be safe and you’d get the people going after him.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You’re sure that if Jethro hadn’t been helping Ducky he would’ve fired a bullet through the woman’s head. You could barely restrain yourself from doing it. You didn’t want another black mark next to your name, so you only arrested her. Fair enough, the three of you put a lot of force into slapping the handcuffs on her wrists; it was the least you could do for Ducky.  
You wanted to go to the hospital with him and Jethro, but Ducky assured you he was okay and that he’d see you at the office. Jethro said the same and told you not to worry.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The ride back was quiet and uneventful. Except for the fact every three seconds you wanted to pull the trigger on your sig in order for your ‘passenger’ to shut the hell up. Screaming about the injustice and calling you all the names under the sun. you had a few choice names for her as well, but knowing your luck lately, if you chose to use them they’d likely end up on record. Tony kept you distracted for a good while. Questioning you about Steve Adler. A friend of yours is dating him and she called you, asking to meet up with them. Jethro couldn’t go with you unfortunately, you would’ve loved to have shown off your husband. At the end of the night, Steve walked you back to your car before going back to Laura at Philomena‘s.  
As it turned out, Steve and Tony were frat brothers. When Tony started harassing you that morning it meant you were getting your old Tony back, so you didn’t bother to very much. Only when he insinuated he was your boyfriend you defended yourself; you didn’t want Jethro thinking you were cheating on him.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When Jethro and Ducky eventually arrived back, Jethro went to interrogation and left Ducky in your hands. This is when you started apologising, profusely. He said that you needn’t worry about him, that he was perfectly okay and that none of it was your fault.   
You offered to drive him home, knowing his car wasn’t anywhere near the building but he declined your offer, saying that he would get a cab. You would hear none of it and gave him the keys to your car, and told him you’d be down shortly.   
It wasn’t long after Ducky left that Jethro came back, telling you that he got a short statement; two words. You decided now was a good enough time to get down to Ducky, who had mentioned dropping in on Abby to reassure her of his health and well being before going to your car.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You were quiet on the drive to Ducky’s, he was quite happy to keep on a tangent of many subjects. You listened like you always do, because it all could have been so different. It gets to a point where you can hardly see the road because of the tears in your eyes. The guilt is starting to eat you up again, knowing it was your fault he was taken.   
You don’t realise until it’s too late, but Ducky had slowly guided your car off to the side. You parked and he pulled you into his arms. You couldn’t describe how bad you felt to him, but he knows you, you didn’t need to.   
He laughs gently, in that fatherly way and tells you he has all the faith in the world in you.  
“Caitlin, it will take more than a psychotic funeral home director to get rid of me. I trust your abilities. Look at it from this perspective; we faced down a terrorist together while saving Gerald‘s arm, with us joined at the hip nothing can stop us or hurt our team.”   
Somehow, he makes you understand and you’re able to drive on again. It still doesn’t stop you apologising.  
He leaves you with a kiss to your cheek and the offer of lunch on Sunday with mother, and to bring Jethro along. You accept and he smiles, you smile back and know you’ll both be okay.


	14. Tropical Excursion

Tropical Excursion  
What do you say to taking chances  
What do you say to jumping off the edge  
Never knowing if there’s solid ground below  
Or a hand to hold, or hell to pay  
What do you say?

If you pretend hard enough, you could be on holiday. With her. Alone together. She’d kill you for thinking like that so you don’t. Truthfully, you felt bad. She hadn’t had a very good string of luck the past few months, and when there came the chance to get out the country and take someone with you, it was obvious you’d take her; regardless of what Gibbs would say.  
She needed to get away. Get away from the dreary winter weather that was settling, away from the constant string of cases. Granted, you’d only be in Paraguay for two days, maybe more, it was something you could give her. To make up for your behaviour towards her recently.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You thought maybe you could talk to her on the plane down, but she slept some of the way. You wanted to wake her up, get everything out in the open; but if you let her sleep, the better it would be for you. You remember the last time you woke her up. Boy was she a bitch that day. Though, it was slightly amusing seeing her stretch and proclaiming for all to hear ‘I feel like hell’. She let a cute little groan out as well. Cute. You know she was cursing you upside down on the inside.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you land, she’s lightened up. It’s clear she’s viewing this as a holiday, not an assignment and you try for the life of you to take the same attitude. You want her to relax and not to worry about what’s going on back home; you need her to relax.  
You get the jeep, which comes with a free map of the area, and it’s now that your guard goes up. You’re both entering dangerous territory and one wrong move will see one or both of you dead.  
She’s your partner and you’d rather die a slow, painful death than see her injured in any way.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
If you think about it, she’s been relaxed for the past few days, since the call for this case came in. you’d like to think it’s because you’re finally relaxed around her. Relaxed enough to go back to flirting with her.  
Parked outside Horlacher’s apartment, you felt bad for two reasons: she wanted to go home to bed but couldn’t and you know how much she hated the cold and you were stuck in a freezing car. Her teeth were actually chattering and her hands could barely hold the binoculars.  
You offered her the chance to warm up, doing what Eskimos do, and she declined. She said it sweetly enough, and you like that sweet tone of voice she uses cause it means there isn’t a chance in hell anything will happen. You liked her response though, ’There’s not enough liquor on the planet to make that happen.’   
You told her you weren’t suggesting the naked part, you were just offering to hug her until she warmed up a bit. For a minute it looked like she was going to take you up on your offer, but then she complained about needing a vacation.  
You suggest the tropics and she agrees.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you were driving through the streets, she finally got into the spirit of things. You had fun making her laugh and she actually told you your little excursion would be fun. When you looked over and smiled, she smiled back. You’ve missed that smile recently.   
Then the mood changed once you found the TAT building. You’ve never imagined having to restrain Kate for anything, but you kinda figured it wouldn’t go down too well either here or the States if Joe Tabarez ended up dead.  
She was actually shaking with anger when you found out that Purcell was a paedophile and that Tabarez knew all along. In a way, you’re glad he ducked out when he did because it gave you a chance to calm her down and reassure her that you’d get the guy.  
She confessed that paedophiles were on her personal hit list. Closely followed by wife beaters.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
She was calm enough to have a video conference with Gibbs, but the anger started to come back once she mentioned Purcell’s wife. Neither of you believed for a second that Purcell was being protected, they just didn’t want to deal with him.   
It only escalated further when you caught Purcell ready to kill the girl. You weren’t sure if it were wise for Kate to go in brandishing her weapon, but you let her go. Even if you did run the risk of her actually double tapping the heart.  
You thought this was as bad as it was going to get.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You know Purcell is a sleazy, good for nothing bastard. Chained to a chair in the TAT building was far more than he deserved. Being sent to Leavenworth was far more than he deserved, but the guys on the inside would soon fix that problem. No one takes too kindly to paedophiles.  
Anna gave you information into what Purcell was involved with in return for her safety. Once she was safe, you returned to Purcell, informing him of what you knew of him. He claimed it was his mission to infiltrate the organizations Kate mentioned, and he seemed very happy with the results he got.  
Kate was able to restrain herself enough, only getting in his face once to question him about having sex with underage children.  
You lost count how many times you realised the situation was worsening.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tabarez came back and you could see the regret on his face when he uncuffed Purcell. Kate started shaking again, and for a split second you thought she might cry. How could anyone follow orders that stated they must let a known paedophile go, possibly to abuse more children. Tabarez seemed to have no problem in doing, or in telling Kate it’s what she must do also.  
Once Purcell left the building, she excused herself, possibly to take out her anger on a wall somewhere. You let her, just so you could have a few words with Tabarez; you think he got the message. You grabbed your bags and met Kate when she came out the bathroom, her eyes a little red. You didn’t mention it and neither did she.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You drive to the hotel McGee found you, although neither of you want to stay in this country any longer than you have to. You find your room and aren’t all that shocked to see that it’s two single beds; perhaps McGee done it for the safety aspect of being in a strange country. You remind yourself to thank him for that, because you don’t want Kate to be alone tonight. She slips into the bathroom and you watch her go. She’s silent and you don’t like it.  
You don’t like how the case turned out.  
McGee contacts you on the satellite phone, telling you he has you on a flight back home in the morning and that Purcell‘s dead. You thank him, and you can tell he’s shocked, and you also thank him for putting Kate in a room with you. He’s about to say something, but you stop him and tell him to let Gibbs know that it’s important he meet them at the airport when they arrive; she’ll need him. McGee doesn’t ask questions.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When you hang up, Kate’s back, dressed in the spare clothes she packed and you decide to freshen up yourself. You leave the phone with her, hoping that Gibbs will phone her to find out if they’re okay. She smiles a little, and you know she’s hoping the same.  
The water gives you some sort of epiphany and when you get back into the room, you approach Kate cautiously. She’s occasionally been known to lash out when backed into a corner and you’d rather not receive her highly effective right hook if it’s all the same.  
She’s worn out from the flight and everything that happened and she doesn’t protest when you sit beside her or when you put an arm around her shoulders. You sit like this until she falls asleep and she’s awake enough to say a silent thanks when the blanket you found in the cupboard is pulled over her.  
You tell her to sleep before you settle in for the night, both of you anxious to get home. Neither of you hear the satellite phone ring.


	15. Helpless

Helpless  
Maybe I’m a bit complicated all I know is  
I don’t cry for pain don’t cry from fear  
You know that  
I don’t cry in the rain no not a tear  
You know that  
Before you leave, when you go  
I think you ought to know  
I don’t cry for pain, I only cry for love

You stare up at the once blue lights and it hits you; he could’ve died. You could’ve died. In the bed next to you, you hear a groan of pain and discomfort as he rolls in his sleep onto his back and he immediately starts coughing again. The instinct to mother him creeps up your throat again and you swallow it back down, not wanting to show him just how much he means to you. He finally decides it’s easier if he stays on his side and this time he rolls towards you.  
You turn your head to look at him and wish you hadn’t. There’s nearly a lifetime of pain etched upon his face, his skin, and you know it’s all because of that stupid damn letter. And what’s worse is the fact that he gloated that the letter was for him and about possibly knowing the sender of the letter which turned out to be a potential death trap.  
Damn him. Damn him and his boyish charm.  
Of course, you can walk out of here any time you want, you don’t need to be here any more. You could have chose to walk away once he got the all clear, or when you wept into Ducky’s shoulder. But you stayed.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You’ve been here for over thirty hours, listening to him try to chat up the nurse, rejoice in tales of college with the doctor and harass you with film references. You don’t mind them really. It’s comforting and always has been, no matter how much you try to deny it.  
You really hoped that Dr Pitt wouldn’t send you away when you asked to stay with him. There was no need, but you’ve already covered that part already. When you walked back into the glass chamber and just stood over him as he slept, he looked so different. You fought hard to keep your hands by your side, and not run them through his hair and over his face. It should’ve been enough that you could hear his raspy breathing, you shouldn’t have felt the need to touch him to know he was still alive; or as close to it as he could be at that hour.  
You fought harder to stop yourself pressing your lips to his forehead or burying your head in his shoulder for just a minute.  
Instead, you smiled down on him, knowing that in a couple of weeks, maybe more, he’d be back at his desk with the possibility of new movie references and ways of completely pissing you off.   
You won’t complain, not until he’s been there for more than a day. You need to hear him, without the coughing and the wheezing. You need to hear him make fun of you for no reason, his smart ass comments about Gibbs. You’ll only jump down his throat when he starts making comments regarding yours and Gibbs’ sex life.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You admitted your fear to him. He more or less done the same in fewer words. At the time you’d made some mundane comment about anyone with half a brain would be terrified and laughed, trying to lighten the mood. You’d caught sight of him in the reflection of the glass and knew he was absolutely terrified.  
When Emma came with the news, your stomach dropped. From your side of the room you heard him laughing with Brad, something about college and spring break; you weren’t surprised by the topic, and that’s when it hit you the first time. He smiled and it suddenly all fell apart.  
You yelled at him because you were scared. You yelled because it was your way of showing him you cared. Just like it’s his way of showing you he cares by teasing the hell out of you.  
You told Brad that the IV in Tony’s arm was useless, he responded by saying it gave him hope. That was kinda the reason you gave Brad for staying, and for not telling Tony the truth.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs would chew your ass out, you knew that, but you couldn’t and wouldn’t walk away from him, not now and not ever. Abby and Ducky, even McGee would want you to stay there and if they were here they would stay. Tony would do it for you, and any of the team, you had to do it for him. You know Gibbs would be more disappointed in you if you walked away rather than stayed.  
It wasn’t the fact that your conscience, and everyone else, would never forgive you if you left only for it to go bad and for him to die alone. Painfully. Nothing but stupid blue lights and that horrible clinical smell that’s somehow attached to your hair and skin and throat.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It was easier when he was awake. You can still hear the faint raspy breathing beside you and it lets you know that you’re not alone and that he IS still alive. You’ve just never seen him so quiet, not like this anyway. When he’s quiet in the office, it’s because he’s just visualised the new receptionist or something equally sexual. Sexual in the eyes of DiNozzo anyway. But right now he isn’t DiNozzo, he’s Tony. He’s the guy that watches your back, he’s the nicer one. DiNozzo had vanished hours ago after making a final movie reference. But he did make you laugh. He did make you feel better.   
You did and do have the sudden urge to watch Alien.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
And again you have the sudden urge to go to his bed just to look down on him. You’re exhausted, but there’s still the fear if you close your eyes for one second too long it’ll be too late and he might still die. That stomach churning feeling that pushed you, tears and all, into Ducky’s arms. He called you brave, but you broke. How could you be brave when you were crying into the older man’s jacket, convinced that one of the men you loved was dying right in front of you and there was absolutely nothing you could do to save him.  
It all comes down to the fact that this man scares the hell out of you, and not because he’s scary or strange or has a disturbing mind. It’s because of what he makes you feel inside, despite the fact you’re happily married.  
Your eyelids are getting heavy and you decide one minute won’t hurt. Just one minute.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It seemed your minute turned into thirty and you’re woken by a nightmare. You dreamt that your partner died beside you. That the bug didn’t have a suicide gene. You sit up and hold your breath long enough to hear his. When you hear nothing you turn your head sharply, he’s on his back again, and try to focus in the darkness to see his chest rising and falling.  
You can’t see it.  
You slowly push back the covers on your bed you somehow ended up under despite lying on top of them and slide out of bed. The floor is stone cold, but you need to make sure. When you reach his bed you crouch down low enough that your eyes are level with his chest and again you focus on him, watching for his muscles rising. He’s breathing so slowly you hardly see it, but he’s definitely breathing.   
You don’t notice that his eyes have been watching you in the darkness. But you certainly notice when his hand comes down on your shoulder.   
You jump out your skin at his touch and fall back to the floor, the cold seeping through the thin pyjamas you’ve been wearing since your clothes were incinerated at work. They’re scratchy and smell funny, but they’re keeping your dignity intact.   
At least they were until you fell on your ass.  
You look up and he looks down and your eyes have finally grown accustomed to the dark as you see a faint smile grace his lips. He offers you a hand but you shake your head and push yourself up and sit beside him this time, now he’s awake. You don’t talk, for some reason there’s no need to. The silence isn’t awkward or depressing, it’s nice. It’s two friends reflecting on things and on how things could have gone down. Every breath you take betrays the fact that even though he can’t see the tears, you’re crying. He senses your fear and he takes your hand, slowly interlocking your fingers together with his and squeezing. You squeeze back because you can and because it gives you a solid positive that he’s alive. When he goes to take his hand back you squeeze harder and whisper to him.  
“Not yet.”  
He knows what you need, and despite the fact he’s lying down, his other hand is on your back.  
He doesn’t shy away when you wipe away your tears.  
The nurse comes in a few minutes later to check on him, informs you it’s just after one in the morning and moves you out the way. He doesn’t let go of your hand.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When a different nurse comes in at seven to perform the same checks, you’re surprised at how long you’ve been sitting by his side, your hand in his. In those hours, a few whispers have been passed between you, but you were both just happy to sit in the silence, knowing what the other was thinking and smiling. Whenever he got that look in his eyes that suggested he was thinking about sex, you pinched his arm until he squeezed your hand. It was easier for him if he didn’t talk, and that’s the way you liked it. Although it would have been nice to hear his voice, even if it was just a whisper.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You’re glad that you didn’t give in and fall asleep. You’re glad you spent all those hours by his side, feeling the need to close your eyes become more pressing but not doing anything about it. Again, you could’ve gone. Maybe not left the cube you were in but gone back to your own bed. You didn’t want to leave him hours ago so why leave him because you’re tired. When you finally do speak, your voice is quiet and your words are sluggish and kind of slurred. The room’s lighter now, and he can see that you’re worn out and he feels guilty for not letting you sleep. He finally speaks again and it’s slightly stronger than it was before.  
“You should sleep, Kate.”  
You shake your head emphatically and your eyes close and you struggle to open them again. He’s frowning when you look at him and you smirk. He’s been practising Gibbs again. The tears are coming back again as well. It’s then he seems to make a decision and you’re glad he does because you’re two seconds away from falling off the bed and flat on your face on the floor. He moves over, being careful of his IV and tugs you down to lie beside him. He helps you as best he can to get comfortable and when you feel his shoulder under your head you smile; when you roll over onto his chest, careful not to put too much weight on him, the hand that was in yours goes to your shoulder and the strength he’s slowly regaining holds you on the bed and against him.  
Just before you allow sleep to claim you, he speaks again.  
“Night, Katie.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
You’re vaguely aware of being moved at some point, but it doesn’t seem important enough to wake you. You figure it’s just Tony moving in his sleep, therefore moving you in the process. But since when did Tony smell like Gibbs. The combined scent of coffee and sawdust is enough to cause a panic inside you and you wake up, the fear that while you were asleep, next to Tony, he took a turn or he died. And you were right next to him and you were too exhausted to notice you were sleeping next to a corpse. You want to scream and cry and see him, just one last time.  
You want to tell him you’re sorry for not waking up, and that you love him. You’ve done this once before and you’re pretty sure he got the message, but it seems doubly important to do it now.  
Gibbs finally gets a hold of your shoulders and he calms you down. You expect to be questioned; why did you stay here, why were you asleep beside him, why did you say you love him. But none of that comes. He knows the reason’s without having to ask.   
He tells you Tony’s fine and he’s been moved into a private room, out of the dungeon that is isolation. You breath a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanks as Gibbs pulls you into him for a hug. You don’t know why you’re crying again, but Gibbs doesn’t seem to mind.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The next time you see him you’re glad to see some of his colour has returned. You’re feeling better yourself; Gibbs dragged you home for a shower and forced you to eat before he even allowed himself to think of letting you to go back to hospital and see your partner.   
The room is filled with black roses - Abby - and at the foot of the bed is a portable DVD player. You look around and can’t see any DVDs and make a note to stop by his place later and pick up a few for him. You have a feeling he’ll want to see anything that will make him feel manly again - half his collection - and decide on picking up the John Travolta film he mentioned earlier. As well as Alien.  
He smile when he sees you lingering in the door and you walk towards him, sitting down in the chair beside the bed. He grabs your hand and shakes his head, pulling you up to sit beside him. It turns out he wants to know why you stayed with him; why you told him you were infected; just why. You can’t find it in you to make up some lame excuse, and he deserves a little bit of happiness right now, so you tell him the truth and nothing less.  
“I couldn’t leave you alone. Never could and never would leave you behind. Neither of us would have been able to forgive me if I had walked away and left you there and I didn‘t want to see you go through that alone. We’re family, Tony, and family sticks together. Even if we annoy the hell out of each other.”  
You don’t know the real reason you lied about being infected, you just know that you wanted to stay there with him, and watch him. There’s no words for that. And now you’re getting weepy again, and you try to blame your hormones - and so does he. This is what you’re used to; the banter.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
After baiting one another, coming up with stupid comebacks and ways to get at Probie he turns sombre again. You hate it when he gets serious like this because you can’t read his face or eyes. He tells you that staying with him had been a stupid thing to do, but that he’s glad you did. You have a feeling no other girl tells him what he’s going to hear from you, and that somehow makes the strange bond and relationship you have with this man stronger.  
“I’ll never leave you.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Thinking back, it’s one of those breakable promises. You know in your line of work there is a distinct possibility that you will leave him, but you can’t take it back now. You both know if given the chance, you’ll never leave him and he’ll never leave you. No matter what happens.


	16. Son Retour (His Return)

Son Retour  
You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
You say we’re not responsible  
But we are, we are  
You’ve washed your hands you come up clean  
Fail to recognise the enemies within  
You say we’re not responsible  
But we are, we are

From all outward appearances, 2005 was shaping up to be a pretty good year; if no one counted the whole death filled letter that bought both Tony and Kate two days in isolation and Tony a further week in a private room at Bethesda. Besides that small incident, it had been a pretty good start to the month.  
The past two weeks had been relatively quiet compared to when Tony was around. There had been one active case, which of course Tony would have loved, involving DVD piracy, fraud and the death of a petty officer. From Monday, there had been nothing, so Gibbs and his two remaining agents spent their time filing paperwork and reviewing cold cases.   
Kate, for the most part of the past two weeks, had done everything possible to prevent herself fretting about Tony. She threw herself, whole-heartedly, into her work, only stopping when Gibbs made her. She allowed herself small moments of weakness in the mornings if no one was around. When she was filled with rage over the stupidity of Tony’s actions, she took herself down to the gym to take it out on the punching bag, but that had only been in the first few days. Occasionally she caught herself staring at Tony’s desk longingly or like this morning, filling page upon page of her sketchpad with images of him drawn from memory.  
This was how McGee found her this Tuesday morning.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Is that Tony?”  
Kate, who had been in a small world of her own, jumped at the sound of McGee’s voice so close to her shoulder. Her agent senses had been put on hold for the moment, and she knew that was bad conduct in her line of work. She tried to cover the sketch which she had drawn from memory, Tony on the phone reclining in his chair with his feet on the desk, as best she could but already knew that McGee had already seen it.  
“No.”  
“Are you sure? It really resembles--”  
“Is there are reason you’ve been haunting my desk all week?”  
“Uh, no. I was just…”  
“Or maybe you decided to take over DiNozzo’s job of annoying me while he’s on sick leave.”  
Kate knew what was wrong with McGee, it was the same thing that was wrong with all of them; guilt. He was hovering because, like nearly always, he wanted reassurance. He wanted to be told it wasn’t his fault a team-mate nearly died, that he wasn’t to blame. Kate, for all the good in her, couldn’t bring herself to tell McGee that none of it was his fault, not yet anyway.   
There was always something decidedly sweet the way he checked on her and Abby, made sure they were both okay before moving onto something else.  
“I just wanted to check that everything was ok.”  
“Why wouldn’t it be?”  
The sketchpad on the desk was long forgotten, Kate was beginning to see the real reason he’d been hovering over her. Making her jump every time she turned around to find him lingering there.  
“Well, you and Tony were close and, you know…”  
And there it was. Not the fact he was making observations on her and Tony’s relationship, or that he was even concerning himself with it anyway. He was speaking like Tony was already dead and not recovering. Kate could swear on a stack of bibles that Tony was still alive, she got enough phone calls at home from him and she visited him often enough after work to see he still had a pulse.  
It was the fact that McGee had used the past tense, insinuating either that she and Tony weren’t as close as they were before, or that he’d died without her knowing. She had a bad feeling in her gut already and it didn’t need adding to.   
“No, I don’t know. What?”  
“He almost died.”  
She’d been able to hold it for the past two weeks, not thinking about it. Tony’s situation had really put things into perspective for her, things that hadn’t been clear enough before were certainly crystal now. She knew before she took on this job there’d be a chance she could die, she wouldn’t even have needed to be an agent to know that when it’s your time you have to accept that.   
She’d been thinking in terms of crossing the street and being hit by a bus or having some sort of household accident resulting in death. Now with this small incident hitting so close to home, she knew there was a higher chance of being killed in an explosion or fire fight.   
She understood, Gibbs and Tony understood. It was McGee’s turn to understand.  
“We’re N.C.I.S. agents, McGee. There is a chance one of us might die every time we walk through the door.”  
Her voice were gentle yet firm, but the tired worn out way she said it made McGee feel like he should already know this. She didn’t speak down to him, making him feel like the naïve, silly little boy he sometimes felt when she and Tony came up with strong sentences while he could only stutter and stumble over his words, but she made it sound almost as if she was sick and tired of saying those words. It was as if she’d exerted herself on a daily basis, telling herself this over and over until she could believe it; not wanting to but having to.  
When he finally opened his mouth to respond, he knew what she meant and agreed, but still the guilty sentence slipped out and he found himself on the side of Kate he’d seen before. The comforting side. She used his given name to show she was being honest and serious and tried her best to tell him that it wasn’t his fault Tony got sick. She watched him, checking for the signs that he was accepting this and finding none she changed tactics. There were probably a million and one bad things she could say about Tony to take McGee’s guilt away, but she settled for a limited few; one of which included the fact he still owed them money. At least that gained her small smirk.  
It was when the phone on Tony’s desk began to ring that the small amount of tension in the room dissipated only to be replaced with emptiness. Both turned towards the noise, seeing Tony picking up the receiver with that ever present grin and chatting to one of his weekly girls. It almost became too much for Kate before McGee pulled her back to the present.  
“Do you miss him as much as I do?”  
“More.”  
Having no idea where that came from and the fact it was said with a heavy and regretful sigh, Kate quickly continued before McGee caught on to what she had just said and possibly took it the wrong way.  
“It’s part of his charm. He’s like an ex-rated Peter Pan.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kate was beyond pissed. She could seriously see herself heading down to the gym now, but unfortunately for her the team had caught a case and she was now standing in autopsy watching Ducky check Tony’s vitals. Not only had Tony already partially admitted to saying she’d had breast implants, which she most certainly had not, convinced her the snake wrapped around her ankle was poisonous before proving he was worth keeping around in order to stop her blowing off her foot, he had then proceeded to get himself blown up.   
Today was shaping up to be a fantastic day. Kate couldn’t have been more thrilled and her sarcasm levels were shooting through the ceiling, even as she rambled to herself internally.  
Focusing back on what was happening in the room, she heard Tony tell Ducky for at least the tenth time since arriving that he was fine. She couldn’t quite help the roll of eyes that came along with that statement, she‘d said it enough times in the past to know it was a huge lie; strangely enough, a huge lie that most people seemed to believe.  
“One thirty six over eighty four is not fine for you, Tony. Your blood pressure is high.”  
“Almost getting blown up tends to do that to me. Not to mention hanging around Kate when she’s in one of her moods.”  
He was back. Despite promising herself not to give him a hard time for a few weeks, he needed it. It was as if he needed the anchor to keep him sane, to make him feel better. Whatever the reason, he was back to being DiNozzo, not Tony, and had been for a couple of minutes now. In her head at least.   
She wanted to blame him for nearly dying this time around, blame him for making her worry. She shouldn’t really complain because this is what she had wanted a few months ago, but today had changed everything once again.  
She supposed she could blame him for the hoarse voice she’d gained after she had screamed his name when he was caught up in the explosion. Digression had never felt so good.  
“This isn’t funny, DiNozzo.”  
“No, it’s not. If I didn’t come in to work today, you and McGee would be lying on one of those tables over there.”  
Kate tuned out again, trying to imagine life at NCIS without herself or Tony or McGee being present. She’d tried once or twice before, trying to work out what emotions everyone would feel if one of them were no longer around. It didn’t help current matters. In the back of her mind she registered Ducky saying Tony needed a rest, and Tony saying he needed to get back to work. Admittedly, yes, they did need to get back to work, but Tony was in no such condition and she couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.  
“Damn it, Tony. I should just take you home and get you in bed.”  
Kate’s original intention of chastising Tony and forcing him to go home had somehow backfired, leaving her standing in front of two very amused gentlemen. Ducky allowed himself an amused smirk while Tony, as only he could do it, showed his “I’m shocked, yet impressed and ever so slightly smug” smile which also translated as “I am a Sex GOD!”. Kate hated it; especially when it was directed at her.  
“Okay, that didn’t come out the way I intended.”  
Both men continued to stare, trying to find the right words to respond to Kate’s faux pas when Gibbs blew in, asking what hadn’t come out right. Not having the words to tell her husband of just under a year that she had expressed she wanted to get Tony in bed without sparking the same reaction in him as she had done Ducky and Tony, she kept her mouth shut only to be saved by Ducky diverting his attention to their patient.  
“Yeah? How is he?”  
“Stubborn, pigheaded, and unaware of his own limitation.”  
“Sounds about right.”  
During Ducky and Gibbs’ conversation, Tony had kept his eyes on Kate. For some reason, hearing those words fall from Kate’s lips had provoked a little train thought that he didn’t really want to stop. He’d had her on the edge for a few months now, even through finding the wet t-shirt picture, he’d still managed to have her worried about him and his lack of, as Ducky put it, pigheaded attitude. He felt it was time to give her a little more of the old Tony back.  
Kate tried in vain to keep her eyes away from the man sitting half undressed on the table in front of her. Crap had been the first word to come to mind, followed swiftly by the need to explain what she’d actually meant. Eventually drawing her eyes up from the floor, she caught Tony’s eye who was now grinning like a maniac. Hearing that Gibbs had began talking about the victim on the table next to Tony, she headed over in their direction followed by Tony. He sidled up to her best he could with his sore ribs, and bent so he could whisper into her ear.  
“So are you buying me dinner first or should we go back to your pl--”  
He was naturally rewarded with a swift elbow to his sore ribs, causing him to gasp and wince in pain before they moved on to hear the results on the autopsies. Ducky informed the trio that the dental records were conclusive, that the two passengers were Navy Lieutenants were Dean Westfall and Curtis Janssen. Tony pointed out that Dean Westfall had rented a car two months ago.  
“Kate, pull up the service records. Have McGee find out who made that nine-one-one call.”  
“On it.”  
“Tony.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Go lie down before you pass out.”  
Even the suggestion that he was going to collapse made Tony laugh, and he tried to prove his point that he wasn’t all that ill by rambling idiotic things, trying to garner some sympathy.   
“I’m not going to pass out. I might cry a little, maybe feel sorry for myself. But DiNozzos do not pass out.”  
He shuffled slowly away from Kate and Ducky, who were trying not to smirk as he called out to inform Gibbs he was on his way to the elevator, where Gibbs was waiting rather impatiently for him to catch up. When he was gone, Kate turned to Ducky and expressed a little more of her concern more thoughtfully.  
“Can’t you do something, Ducky?”  
“I’m doing it right now.”  
“What?”  
“Praying.”  
It was more or less the same as she was doing.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The team had been working quietly to get the information they needed for less than an hour. Tony, after having been harassed by Kate and McGee, had gone down to Abby’s to lie down only for Gibbs to drag him out the room a few minutes later.   
Abby explained that the main electric charge on the bomb was C-four and was primed with DET cord and blasting caps. After Tony questioned being able to trace the manufacturer, Abby mentioned the fact that there were no taggants mixed in for identification meaning that it had been made from scratch.  
Up in the squad room, Kate and McGee were also making progress. As McGee began explaining about the nine-one-one tape, Gibbs gut was churning and he already knew what McGee was going to tell him. The call was anonymous and untraceable. Kate had been checking out the backgrounds on the Lieutenants and had learned they were both pilots, one of whom was T.A.D. at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Everyone had suddenly become aware of Gibbs’ paranoia level rising and each took it upon themselves to find out more.  
“Someone wanted NCIS to investigate the scene.”  
“Why?”  
“The same reason they rigged that car to explode, Kate.”  
“We were set up. So someone really is trying to kill us?”  
“Yeah, they came pretty damn close.”  
Now it had come to light that someone was out for blood, Gibbs rushed up to MTAC to relay the information to Director Morrow. With the fact that Gibbs had his suspicions as to who the culprit could be, Morrow didn’t seem to be too convinced by Gibbs argument. He explained in no uncertain terms to Gibbs that there were other factors possibly involved that he wasn’t at liberty to discuss. That didn’t stop Gibbs from pushing the issue, trying to guilt trip his boss into giving him information that he could use, but Morrow was stonewalling him. The second Gibbs was dismissed, Morrow placed a call to the head of the FBI.  
After leaving MTAC, Gibbs found his team already eating dinner at their desks. He didn’t really want to keep them all here all night, but he could see no other choice. If someone was out to get them, he wanted his team where he could see them at all times. He quickly divided up their tasks; Kate checking out Westfall, McGee looking for reasons behind the hand dissection and Tony to eat something before informing them he was going out. No one thought anything of it, and knew his foul mood was most likely through a lack of caffeine.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
After half heartedly coming up with reasons as to why a person would cut off someone’s hands, Kate and Tony left McGee to ponder the reasons while they continued with their dinner. McGee still hadn’t settled enough not to look up when he heard the elevator doors emit a bright ding, announcing a persons arrival, so when it happened he naturally looked up and was concerned at what he saw.  
“We’ve got trouble.”  
His two colleagues joked with him until he mentioned the fact their least favourite person had just entered their domain. Kate looked up sharply at the man approaching their desks, as did Tony while McGee cautiously backed away. He’d seen how territorial his friends could get over cases and he didn’t like how this was shaping up.  
“Fornell?”  
Tony muttered something over on his side which McGee caught and realised that he wasn’t joking. He rarely seen Tony serious but when he did, he knew to pay attention to what was happening.   
“Where’s Gibbs?”  
Not liking the fact that Tobias Fornell was approaching them and looking for Gibbs specifically, Kate figured the best thing to do for now would be to deter him from looking for their boss. Fornell, in typical behaviour, didn’t accept it.  
“Where is he, Agent Todd?”  
“He’s out. Try him on his cell.”  
“I did. He’s not answering.”  
Kate smirked knowing full well her husband wouldn’t answer if he knew Fornell was calling him. She pictured him walking back to the office, coffee in hand, ditching his cell phone somewhere along the road. Or throwing it under a passing car. They’d probably have to replace it.  
“What’s going on?”  
Now with Tony’s participation in the conversation, Fornell looked at each member of Gibbs team individually, weighing up the consequences of informing them of his news. Kate, doting wife, would freak. Tony, faithful senior agent, would take charge. McGee, young and insecure, would have no idea of the fall out. There was no other way and he knew he’d get his ass kicked several times over by them, but they needed to know, especially now it was too late to do anything.  
“Ari Haswari is back in the country.”  
Under the dim lighting, no one noticed Kate’s complexion paling considerably upon hearing that her nemesis was back on her turf. The one thing she feared more than the wrath of her husband was Ari Haswari coming back to kill one of them, and it seemed her fears were coming true.  
At this moment she didn’t care if she lost her job or was reprimanded, she needed Fornell to understand what this meant for her and her team, the fact it would likely kill them all. And her mind wasn’t being too helpful in stating she meant that literally. Unlike a previous case where she had to be physically restrained, she kept her composure and only yelled the one question on the other twos lips.  
“You let that psycho back in the State without telling us?!”  
Fornell turned his attention to Kate, and only now severely regretted not informing them sooner. He’d been at the farmhouse when Kate had been recovered and had seen what had happened. He’d been there when she’d been interviewed and he knew what her husband had done afterwards.   
For once in his life, Tobias C. Fornell, was feeling guilty.  
“He was supposed to be helping us uncover an Al Qaeda cell in the D.C. area.”  
“What do you mean “supposed to”, Fornell?”  
He could feel the guilt and regret spreading through him like wild fire, unstoppable; like the team in front of him. He admired them more now than he had before. They were strong and determined, they kept each other in line and watched each other’s backs; the less could be said for his agents. They’d be able to handle this.  
“We now think he’s here for more personal reasons. He’s planning on killing Gibbs.”  
The silence in the room was palpable and only Kate‘s harsh breathing could be heard. She leant heavily on her desk, her legs barely able to support and looked up to the enemy. He looked back, and the profiler in her could see every inch of regret, sorrow and guilt. Not only was it written on his face, but it was in his eyes. Gibbs told her eyes could lie, but she couldn’t be sure with Fornell. It was only when he put a hand on her shoulder, as if to comfort her, did she know that what she seen was the truth.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
After Fornell had delivered his news and vanished up to the director’s office, Kate collapsed into her chair. Her head was full of a myriad of images, ones she wouldn’t dare repeat with the exception of being under a psych evaluation order. It wasn’t going to happen, he wasn’t going to die on her. They’d fought too hard to give in now and she was making it her mission to not only protect her husband and her team, but to rid them of Ari once and for all.  
Alarm bells started ringing as she recalled Fornell saying Gibbs wasn’t answering his phone and immediately picked up her receiver and called him, leaving all kinds of messages. First it was the typical, “Hey, where are you?” messages, then there was the “Why are you not picking up? Call me when you get this.” messages and finally there was the “If you don’t answer this goddamn phone, now Gibbs, I swear, you’re sleeping on the sofa if I don’t shoot you first!” messages.   
When, after twenty minutes, he still hadn’t got in contact with her or anyone else, Kate decided enough was enough and went to the filing cabinet to retrieve her spare gym clothes, receiving a moment of comfort from Tony which she appreciated. He was trying to keep her calm and sane, but it wasn’t helping much.  
It was time to vent her frustration on something other than her team.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
McGee ran off to inform both Abby and Ducky of the recently received information and was met with the same attitude of kill the bastard. The nervous, young boy in him was instantly replaced with the iron strong agent, and he told them both, under no circumstances, would Ari Haswari live to see tomorrow.   
He hadn’t been there when they first encountered him, but remembered what happened the second time; how Gibbs had flipped out at Abby, himself and Tony one right after the other; the incessant pacing around the lab and between the desks when they were getting no where.   
He didn’t like it then and he most certainly didn’t like it now.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tony jumped into action. He called Gibbs in between Kate calling and leaving messages, he informed specific agents, Balboa and Axelrod, of the situation because they’d assisted the previous times.   
He watched Kate for a moment, while she was leaving what would be her final message on Gibbs voicemail, and thought he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes and posture. She had every right, he figured. She had a basic idea of what Ari was about and had dealt with him twice before. She was alone then, she had them now.   
When she left her desk and headed towards the filing cabinet next to him, he caught her hand while he was calling Gibbs again and gave her fingers a tight squeeze. It wasn’t a hug and it wouldn’t do much, but the thought was there.  
When she’d gone, he retrieved the large case file he’d learned about Kate keeping in her desk to pull out occasionally and go over what she had, and started going through it; looking over her case notes, digging further into what Kate had found and finding more to add to the file. Running through a list of possible locations.   
He was amazed at the size of the folder and the amount of information Kate had apparently found in a short period of time. It seemed after she had been taken hostage the first time, she learned everything about him except his name and his status in the world. He was impressed.  
When the phone on Kate’s desk rang, he dived out his chair straight over to her desk to answer in case it was Gibbs calling. When it turned out not to be Gibbs, but to be the directors secretary informing him Kate had been requested to the directors office immediately, he worried and took off to the gym to get her.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
A ten minute warm up stretch, a fifteen minute round against the punching bag and a five minute shower found Kate back in the locker room redressing. The workout helped some, but not as much as seeing Gibbs in the flesh or shooting out Ari. One or the other would do the trick to alleviate the tension that had crept into her spine, preferably the former.   
Just as she was leaving the gym and turning down the corridor, Tony quite literally ran into her, almost knocking her over and informed her quietly that the director had requested her presence.  
Being requested to the directors office after hearing of Ari’s possible inclusion in their case wasn’t a good sign; especially since Kate was married to their supposed target and had personal dealings with Ari.  
Neither Tony nor Kate mentioned the possibility of team reassignment, but they thought it.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Just as Kate was entering the directors office, at a small coffee shop not too far from NCIS, Gibbs felt himself being watched. He’d felt it since he left the office, but had seen no obvious signs that he was being tailed, or that there was anyone suspicious around him. He’d walked slowly, trying to get a glimpse of anyone who would be an ideal suspect; it came in the form of a motorcyclist.   
Paying for his coffee, he stepped outside, trying to convince himself that if he were to take Kate of the case, it would be better all round; especially for her. Stepping out into the warm May air, he found his attention being drawn to one of the patrons at a small table, who was reading a paper, the motorbike parked directly behind him. He kept his distance from the person, his gut telling him not to get too close to whoever it was, and watched as they lowered the paper and revealed their identity.  
Ari.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Conversation between the two gentlemen was kept to a minimum, Ari doing the majority of the talking while Gibbs pretended to listen. There were mentions of Ari accompanying Gibbs to the office for questioning, of someone trying to kill his team and Gibbs believing it had been Ari. And also the threat that there was an explosive device planted under one of the tables. None of this was of any interest to Gibbs, he only wanted to know one thing.  
“What are you doing here?”  
“An Al Qaeda cell is planning an attack in Washington. I’m here to stop it.”  
“Yeah, what’s the target?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Where is the cell located?”  
“I wish I knew.”  
Gibbs knew he was lying; not that there were any signs but then again, Ari was trained in this sort of deception, lying came easily to him.   
Ari then informed Gibbs that he was able to gain access to the appropriate information, but that it came a price. Again, Gibbs wasn’t concerned with this, nor the fact that Ari had been sent there to kill him in order to get that information and become a part of the Washington cell. It didn’t mean anything, because it wouldn’t happen.  
“You don’t seem surprised.”  
“That means I’m doing my job.”  
“Yes. And in order for me to do mine, you have to die. I wonder, what would you do in my position?”  
“Kill myself.”  
Ari had laughed, and seemed very put out seeing as he couldn’t do that to himself. He claimed that it were the only part of his religion he subscribed to; Gibbs offered to help with that. Ari, it seemed, was willing to accept Gibbs offer to kill him, and then offered one himself.  
“You have twenty-four hours to find and eliminate the cell. If you fail…”  
“I appreciate the heads up.”  
“It’s the least I could do.”  
There was a drawn out moment of silence in which Ari watched Gibbs for a long moment. Gibbs kept his attention focused solely on the man in front of him, wanting to know why he was offering up this information if the only thing in it for him was death.   
Ari clearing his throat brought Gibbs out of his reverie of seeing Ari die at his hands and back to the crisp May evening weather they were sitting in and back into a new nightmare.  
“How’s Caitlin, by the way? I’ve thought of her often since my last visit.”  
The threat there was obvious and Gibbs didn’t know why he hadn’t considered that before. Of course Ari was offering up information, there was something in it for him. It would seem that he would get another chance at Kate, and possibly this time kill her for little and all she knew.   
“Go near her and I don’t care what government agency is watching your back, I will kill you this time.”  
Gibbs’ threat was far more vocal and he had made sure to get his point across clearly. Ari certainly appreciated this warning, because now the game they had been playing had become a challenge; Gibbs was unconsciously daring him to try and get to Kate and Ari would certainly try, just to see how far Gibbs would go.  
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When Gibbs finally returned after an hour of having his team worry, he let them know he already knew Ari was back in town since he’d just had coffee with him. Tony and McGee asked what had happened and Gibbs informed them bluntly that he’d tried to kill him, which was true.   
He noted Kate’s absence, and knew the chances of her being either in Abby’s or in the gym was a high possibility. This was something both of them had feared since their first encounter and Gibbs knew she would need to vent her anger if she were to go into the field and keep a level head. Suppressing his worry for his wife, he focused his attention on what McGee had learned about Westfall.  
“Uh, Boss, aren’t you going to elaborate a little bit first?”  
“Yeah, McGee! I’m alive! Now tell me about Westfall.”  
McGee quickly informed Gibbs of what he knew, before Tony answered his next question and also mentioned the fact the FBI were checking Danborn’s security.  
“The FBI?”  
“Lots happened in the last hour, Boss.”  
“Where’s Fornell?”  
“MTAC.”  
Gibbs strode off to the stairwell leaving Tony and McGee to watch him go.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
While Gibbs met with Fornell outside MTAC, Kate was inside with the director, describing a very strategic security plan she was going to be putting into operation as soon as Gibbs knew.  
When she had met with Director Morrow, unpleasant thoughts had been going through her head again. Once she was told that she were to be head protective custody agent, plans were replacing the thoughts as she considered the ways she knew of to keep her husband alive for a few more years.  
They’d discussed the possibility of team reassignment for her until the case was closed, to which she had declined and also the possibility of witness protection for both she and Gibbs for the time it took them to take down Ari and his cell and again she declined. Kate explained it as nicely as she could, she wasn’t going to let Ari win and if that meant her life for millions of others she was willing to do it. She didn’t particularly want to, but if she was risking her life to save millions of innocent civilians, she could accept it, even if it meant leaving her team to mourn her.  
Gibbs entered the room not long after Kate had taken her seat at the back, in the dark, where she was able to hear every word that was being said between her husband and her official boss. Gibbs hated surprises and this would be one hell of a surprise for him. She heard the word resignation and also the sentence that followed, and the thought that Gibbs was willing to leave NCIS over this sent a chill through her body. Of all the things they witnessed through their work, this was the one that it seemed Gibbs couldn‘t deal with. She knew both men would forget this section of their conversation and waited patiently for her cue to approach them in front of the large screen.  
“I will now hand you over to our federally certified protective custody expert, Agent Todd. I hear she used to protect the President. You should be flattered. He‘s all yours. I expect you to follow her orders to the letter, as if they were mine.”  
Kate walked down the stairs and stood next to Morrow, smirking at Gibbs. Gibbs didn’t do flattery and he most certainly didn’t do protective custody unless he was the one doing the protecting; Kate knew after this case was over, she’d have some fun with this. She turned to watch Morrow leave the room before turning back to Gibbs, who looked totally confused at the fact he was being ordered to respect his wife‘s authority over him now.  
“That last part? He meant it.”  
She watched as he considered his place under her watch before she felt his arms slide around her waist and pull her closer. Kate copied the motion and tilted her head up so she could have a proper look at Gibbs, seeing the obvious question in his eyes: why?  
“Because this was my only choice. Well, actually I had three; I liked this one better.”  
“What were the other two?”  
“Witness protection for both of us until Ari was taken care of or team reassignment for me.”  
“Personally, Katie, I prefer team reassignment.”  
“Yeah, and I prefer knowing my husband’s coming home with me tomorrow. Look, I‘m not going to sit back and watch you take Ari out by yourself or wait for the phone call to tell me you‘re dead. At least this way, I know you‘re safe and I get to watch him die.”  
Gibbs, having already resigned himself to the fact there was no talking to or disagreeing with Kate when she had already decided what was best, found himself giving in just a little bit more to her. Kate, seeing his indecision of whether or not to allow her to protect him the way she had been trained to, moved her arms up around his shoulders and around his neck, anchoring herself to him.  
“We’ll be okay.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kate spent the better part of an hour writing out plans and security details after having left Gibbs in MTAC. She considered and reconsidered every possibility, ran through various scenarios and finally had things the way she wanted, now all she had to do was put said plan into action.  
Tony and McGee had watched her silently from their desks, waiting until they were told what to do. Receiving orders from his partner, who was of a lower ranking, was not at the top of Tony’s list of things to do, but if it meant they got to keep Gibbs around for a few more years he was willing to comply. That and not get on the wrong side of Kate at this precise moment as it wouldn’t bode well for anyone. So he found himself here, standing by Gibbs desk, listening as Kate ran off her list of necessities.  
“At home two teams. Six hour shifts, alternating radio checks every ten minutes. Outside I want a mobile foot patrol and two permanent observation posts.”   
“Gibbs is not going to like that.”  
“Well screw what Gibbs likes, Tony, I’ll deal with him myself. I’m not letting that psycho within five miles of him. McGee, I need full audio and video surveillance inside and out. Everything tied back into MTAC.”  
“You got it, Kate.”  
Gibbs had been watching from the stairs as Kate made her preparations into his safety. He heard what would be happening, including Tony’s mentioning that he wouldn’t like it, and had to agree with him. None of this was sitting well with him, but his team’s lives in danger rarely did go down well.  
“Go home, it’s late.”  
“Gibbs, we’re not going anywhere.”  
“No, I’m staying here, you’re going home.”  
“Gibbs…”  
“Kate, I do not need an army of agents staying up all night to watch me build a boat.”  
“Jethro, deal with it. You are under my protective custody, and for arguments sake, so is everyone else. You go, I go, meaning they go. With us, to our home. We stay, they stay. Got it?”  
He was growling at her and she knew it, but Kate wasn’t going to back down from this. She was going to stand her ground and make him see sense; make him see that he was setting himself up for death if he didn’t listen to her. The growling, and the staring, finally eased and Gibbs gave in to her, again.  
Kate definitely liked her new status.  
“Fine.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
At some point during the night, Gibbs found himself with a new cup of coffee, it wasn’t his regular and it wasn’t his favourite. It seemed that his wife had taken it upon herself to inform other agents not to let her husband go anywhere, even on a quick run for coffee. When he’d found himself needing more, he’d started to head out the building only to be stopped by security and escorted back to his desk. A junior agent had then approached him cautiously with a Styrofoam cup, apologizing that it wasn’t from his usual place but from down the corridor. He was going to get her back for this; no more late night cuddles for her.  
Shuffling through the notes and pictures on the original case from that morning, Gibbs heaved a sigh and stood from his desk. McGee and Tony were asleep in their chairs, pizza boxes on their desks. He smirked in the barely lit room, knowing they’d have stiff necks in the morning.  
Rounding his desk, he came to a stop in front of Kate’s and wasn’t surprised to see that she was sensible enough to sleep on the floor behind her chair. Her position suggested she was lying in wait for any sign of danger that may befall anyone under her protection, and she would be ready to jump to their defence.  
The grey woollen blanket she had pulled from the same drawer she kept Ari’s file in offered hardly any warmth to her, but still Gibbs knelt down and pulled it higher up to cover her shoulders. She didn’t move nor wake, simply mumbled something, possibly thanks, in her sleep and dreamt on. As much as he wanted to, Gibbs could do nothing more than rub her shoulder, tracing a line down her ribs and waist with his hand to make sure she stayed sleeping.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The morning light saw Kate with a sore back, sore head and no real reason to get up. The threat of the case was playing on her mind, and she was pretty thankful that she hadn’t had a nightmare. Pulling herself up with the help of her desk, Kate looked around her team to see what they were doing; she was hardly surprised to see both Tony and McGee still asleep, she let them off simply because they hadn’t crashed until about three and it was now seven.   
She was expecting Gibbs to already be up, freshly dressed and drinking what would be his fourth coffee of the morning. What she wasn’t expecting was to turn to her husband and find him at his desk with his throat slit open. The blood had ran and stained a large portion of his shirt front, his eyes were open and cast toward the ceiling. He was dead.  
The scream threatening to escape her throat was stalled by the presence of someone behind her. The hand that suddenly landed on her shoulder caused her to turn around only to come face to face with Ari Haswari. Kate gasped, realising that there was a psycho standing in front of her, having found another way to bypass security, and that she was without a weapon to defend herself.  
“Did you miss me?”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Gibbs!”  
The vivid and almost real-time quality of the nightmare caused Kate to sit bolt upright. The sudden rush to her head made the room spin slightly and she didn’t even register the fact Tony had been kneeling over her while she‘d been sleeping.   
“You dream about Gibbs?”  
The fact she dreamt about Gibbs was neither here nor there, she had every right to dream about Gibbs if she so chose and that piece of information was so beyond Tony’s right to know, Kate wanted to give him a good hard head slap but couldn’t find it in her to do. She just wanted to see Gibbs, make sure he was okay.  
“What? No.”  
Just like in her dream, Kate struggled to her feet and wasn’t nearly alert enough to start one of these conversations with Tony, especially knowing where this one was leading and when McGee joined in she felt backed into a corner with no way out.  
Tony knew exactly what was wrong with Kate and he had taken it upon himself to make her forget. He knew what it was like to have a dream so real that you woke up in a cold sweat with the pressing need to call the person to hear their voice or go by their place and just touch them, make sure they were real and alive.   
He’d been watching Kate since he’d woken up, saw her distress. The only reason he’d been kneeling over her was because he was trying to work out a way of waking her up without being injured in a vital area. When he’d realised it was a nightmare about Gibbs, the sudden decision to make a joke out of it to help her relax wasn’t surprising. The decision to have McGee join in with the conversation hadn’t been planned.  
He couldn’t have been more pleased when, out the corner of his eyes, he noticed Gibbs arrive, fresh coffee in hand and head their way. He kept her attention long enough to make sure she wasn’t about to run over to him and make sure he had no injuries or get on at him for leaving and not waking her.   
If anyone other than him or Gibbs had seen her obvious distress, she’d be taken off the case and left with Abby, or to do paperwork. It was bad enough that she was already freaking out even though nothing really eventful happened yet, but it would be worse if Gibbs told her to stay in the office; that he wasn’t trusting her state of mind or her emotional well being.   
They needed her to be strong and to set aside her fears of anyone being injured in the coming hours. The fact that she brushed off his comments without so much as a slap or an elbow to the gut or even a reproachful comment laid her distress out to him and he was just glad McGee couldn’t read it.  
Brushing past the two men that were currently crowding her, Kate made her way over to Gibbs desk, not even bothering to ask where he’d been or if he’d got her a coffee. The simple fact he was standing there in front of her, alive, was all she needed to know right now. When he’d set his coffee on the table and turned to get a clean shirt, she’d sneakily taken a sip and tried not be affected by the bitterness. When he was about to change, Kate realised she’d need to jump straight in to protect him and they hadn‘t even left the building yet.  
“Look, if you want to check out the defence contracting company with us today, you’re wearing a vest.”  
He was about to complain, they could all see that. He was about to argue that he wasn’t wearing a vest because, like so many times he’d said it before, it would be visible under his shirt. But it seemed, the longer he looked at Kate, the more he could read in her eyes what had happened and that she needed him to do this. If not for himself but for her.  
“I can live with that.”  
There was no sigh of relief from Kate, which would certainly betray her nerves and have her taken off the case, instead there was a slight smile, a nod of agreement and five words given in a quietly sarcastic tone.  
“That’s kind of the point, Gibbs.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
In the half hour before leaving for Danborn Avionics, Kate made sure everything was set security wise. She checked three times that Gibbs was still wearing his vest and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was each time.   
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, because she did, it was just the fact that she didn’t trust him to keep his vest on. During several cases in the past two years, Gibbs had taken his vest off despite knowing how much it pissed off Kate. He’d tried reasoning with her then, failing spectacularly every time, but always promised he’d never put himself in the position where taking off his vest would ultimately result in his death.  
Seeing her beginning to get nervous again at the thought of facing Ari, Gibbs pulled Kate away from her desk and the eyes of their co-workers and into the elevator. He’d been partially witness to what had happened with her earlier and wanted to know that she was steady enough to handle what was about to happen.  
Instead of stopping the steel box like he normally would, during a rather informal interrogation or ass kicking, he rode down with her to the second floor and pulled her off into the break room. He was forced to stop halfway through the door as Kate insisted on going first and checking to make sure there were no nasty surprises waiting for them. If Gibbs wasn’t sure she was nervous before, he was sure now.  
When Kate finally gave the all clear, he followed her in and locked the door behind him, wanting to have her alone for this. He hadn’t told her that he’d met with Ari the previous night, or anything regarding their conversation so telling her now was going to be hard, most likely on him. The probability of him telling her of his encounter was zero to none, wanting to focus everything on her and make sure she was okay.  
“Kate.”  
“I’m fine. I just…I could really use a hug right now.”  
She’d been avoiding his eyes since being dragged away from her desk, appreciating the silence between them and appreciating that he waited before finally succumbing to his curiosity. The look she gave him was that of an exhausted and vulnerable young woman and Gibbs didn’t hesitate in stepping forward and taking her in his arms.   
As much as he loved standing there with Kate in his arms, a night spent half awake in a chair had killed his back and moved so he was perched on the edge of the table in the middle of the room, drawing Kate in to stand between his knees. In turn, Kate moved slightly so some of her weight was resting on his left thigh and wrapped her arms more securely round his neck.  
“Want to tell me what happened this morning?”  
“Nightmare.”  
“Ari?”  
“What else? It’s been such a long time since the last one, and it scared me. Then again, seeing your husband with his throat slit open will do that to a person…he was here and he killed you…and I couldn‘t protect you.”  
“You’re doing a pretty good job right now. Katie, I’m going to make all this up to you when it‘s over, I swear it. I‘ll take you away, for a week, maybe two. I‘m thinking the Bahamas, or Cuba.”  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
The couple stayed like that for a few minutes longer before Kate decided they should head out to Danborn if they wanted any evidence to prove Ari was behind all of this. When she looked at Gibbs this time, what he saw was a determined, pissed off, out for revenge woman he knew he himself had to be scared of. There wasn’t anything in this world that would make him cross Kate when she was in a mood like this and so agreed to follow her lead.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The information they gained at Danborn Avionics wasn’t much, but it proved to them once again how utterly useless the FBI actually were. Not only did they fail to mention a piece of vital information, they also stepped over a crucial piece of missing evidence, a target drone, that could potentially have proven a link to the terrorist cell that Gibbs was sure Ari was leading.   
It was only when Gibbs mentioned the fact that the company was missing this technology, did the company director inform them of what would be needed to potentially fly one if they were operational. Again, Gibbs’ gut sensed that the radio flight control formerly belonging to Lieutenant Westfall would be missing.  
Back in Abby’s lab, Kate and Gibbs checked the possibility of a team of terrorists being able to fix up a drone to make it flyable again. Abby became the bearer of bad news in a matter of minutes, not even having enough energy to crack a proper joke. She’d realised how serious the situation was with the case twenty four hours ago when McGee came running in promising he’d protect her.   
Kate supposed that if the stolen transmitter were from a modern UAV, the cell may not have been able to fly it, Abby stated that Danborn’s flight codes were based on original software and anything was possible and that the range would be forty miles unless it were loaded down with explosives, which Gibbs knew it would be. Abby further explained that there would be much ‘bang for your buck’ even if there was a low amount of explosives but she was then informed it wouldn’t be headed for a hard target, but a soft one.  
“Soft target?”  
“People.”  
“Oh.”  
“Any was to stop it if it’s launched?”  
“It wouldn’t be hard to destabilize the system. I have the operational frequencies; another controller could probably jam it.”  
“Get me another controller.”  
Gibbs stormed out as Abby was telling of the flaw in the plan, and caught Kate as she went to follow. She confided in her friend that’d she’d had a weird dream, and Kate wanted to tell Abby of hers but not wanting to scare the girl more continued to listen. Hearing of how Tony had been standing with blood on his face and how Abby had woke up crying made Kate more determined to make sure none of that happened, and tried to set aside Abby’s worries by telling her it was only a bete noire.   
She was usually one to listen when Abby had a hinky feeling, similar to Gibbs’ gut, but this was just too real for her liking.  
Tony and McGee had been working vigilantly since returning to the squad room, trawling through tape upon tape of security from the past forty-eight hours, courtesy of Danborn Avionics. McGee had edited the footage to show only the room they’d searched earlier, instead of the whole building as that would’ve taken them longer.   
They’d both seen the looks on Kate and Gibbs’ faces and they didn’t want anything stopping them from getting their man; their revenge.  
It finally came to a point where Tony found the footage they needed, despite being unable to clearly identify him, everyone surrounding the plasma screen know it’s Ari. It’s all Gibbs needed to request Fornell’s presence, inform him Ari was running the cell and to further delight in telling him he’ had just made the second biggest mistake of his life.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
To lighten the tension that had settled over the team that day, Tony and Kate made sure to get ringside seats in MTAC to watch the fight that was about to break out while McGee went down to Abby to learn how to block the drone.  
When Fornell arrived, he was aware of the two agents sitting ringside knowing they were only there for the showdown between their boss and his counterpart instead of any information, and decided to inform them that he figured Gibbs to exaggerating when told how Diane would screw him over. He was also trying to lighten the potential violent atmosphere he was going to create just by being in the building.  
The little piece of information he did have on Ari, however, he wasn’t willing to part with as it would mean their source would be killed and the FBI would no longer have an informant working as part of a terrorist cell. It would also mean his director would come down on his ass, as would the CIA, because they had been informed that Jethro Gibbs was sitting this operation out. He had tried to tell them that getting Jethro Gibbs to stop extracting his revenge would be more harder than keeping tabs on Ari, but no one had listened to him. The CIA lied to him, he regularly lied to Gibbs but this was one thing he’d share willingly. It was time to offer a joint investigation with Gibbs leading the way.  
“Ari’s playing you. He’s no double agent! He never has been! Where is he?”  
“All we’ve got is an encrypted spook cell phone number.”  
“Call him.”  
“But you can’t trace it from here, Gibbs. You need a high level NSA intercept.”  
“Patch us through.”  
“We’re talking dedicated satellite time.”  
The black plasma screen they were standing in front of suddenly came to life as an NSA satellite technician came into focus, telling the four agents in the room that there were two NSA satellites in range and usable for the next five minutes and that if they wanted their man they had to move now. Fornell reached into the pocket inside his jacket and pulled out his wallet, before opening it to retrieve a card with Ari’s number on it. Hesitating, he looked down at the card in his hand before looking at Kate and Tony who were waiting expectantly in the shadows and then at Gibbs who looked ready to open fire.  
“Are you sure about this?”  
“As sure as when I told you she would clean out your back account when she left.”  
Fornell could never figure out why Gibbs was always right and grudgingly handed over the number to Gibbs, who in turn gave it to a technician who typed it into the computer and called. Cranston patched the number thorough but couldn’t be sure it would be answered until Gibbs told him to put his name on the caller I.D..   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The phone call to Ari had gone surprisingly well; Gibbs not losing patience with him once and Ari showing some mediocre form of regret of hearing Gibbs had been thrown off the case. It was all an act, of course, and neither men had been fooled by the other. Gibbs ended the call abruptly just as Ari was about to say something of a compliment in regards to him, but no one had the chance to hear it. Cranston had immediately informed them of Ari’s whereabouts, Newport News, and Gibbs took his two agents to pick up McGee leaving Fornell dumbfounded.  
“What the hell’s he doing in Norfolk?”  
Perhaps if he hadn’t bought the lies that the CIA had told him, and he hadn’t forced them down Gibbs’ throat continuously over the past year, then maybe he would’ve been able to realise when he was being played for a fool. But if he hadn’t figured it out after a few months with Diane, what chance did he ever have a realising it with a double agent who it seemed was rather ingenuous in his schemes.  
He was going to owe Gibbs big time for this one. For everything he’d put his team through and more importantly, his girl.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The ride down to Newport News was tense to say the least.   
Having picked McGee up from Abby’s lab, where she was running through how to disarm the controller for the fifth time, the four kitted themselves out in Kevlar vests and communication equipment before Tony headed to the weaponry lockup and snagged a rifle for Kate and a case of bullets that had Ari’s name written all over them. They each made sure they had spare ammunition and enough revenge and hate in them to last at least the majority of a fire fight. Whatever Tony and McGee didn’t have in hatred was made up between Kate and Gibbs in waves that practically radiated off them. Tony at least understood their pressing need for revenge, he’d felt it himself a few times, but he’d never seen it as powerful as this before and seeing the rawness of it in Kate’s eyes made him never want to cross her ever again. Ever.  
Kate and McGee sat in back while Tony rode shotgun and Gibbs, as usual, drove at a break neck speed. Kate fumed silently as McGee checked his computer program beside her. As much as she detested the way Gibbs drove, she found herself wishing him to just floor the pedal a little harder. Not even Gibbs could have established how much hate was coursing through her veins right now at finally being able to see the end to what had been a very long and dark tunnel filled with nightmares, sly glances over shoulders and the ever present feeling of being watched. The sooner she made it to that warehouse the sooner she could get back to as normal as was possible.  
Any conversation that occurred flew over her head until Tony directly asked her what the days date was. She replied quickly with a strength in her voice she never knew existed and was exasperated to hear that all Tony could think about was the fact that Paula Cassidy was returning to shore and that they were hooking up that weekend.  
“Well, don’t you think you should concentrate on that terrorist attack first?”  
“The whole Marine Amphibious Strike Group returns today, Kate. Five ships, all of them headed to Norfolk.”  
With this new information in mind, Kate recalled the conversation in the lab earlier about soft and hard targets and suddenly Tony’s peaked interest in Paula Cassidy made sense. It was further justified when Gibbs explained to McGee about the piers being packed with Navy families. The new information made Kate more determined to take this son of a bitch down, and again she meant that at the cost of her own life.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
They pulled into a long alley way, surrounded by several large warehouses on both sides. McGee had finally figured out how to take out the drone, by being able to hit three frequencies including the one it was on.   
Tony was scanning the area, as was Kate, and he wasn’t too helpful in pointing out they were surrounded by buildings and that it would take them hours to search every last one thoroughly. Gibbs, keeping his head in the game, took the shotgun from Kate and fired a single shot into the air, eliciting yells from one warehouse just down the road.  
“Tony, get the fire escape. Kate, with me. McGee, start jamming.”  
McGee immediately set up his console behind the car as Tony, Kate and Gibbs set off running down the alley towards their destination. McGee came to realise as he sat there, shaking slightly, that perhaps he wasn’t as cut out for field work as he had thought last year. He was glad he was resident computer geek, because it meant he got to sit here in the dirt while his friends risked their lives for their country. He was wimping out, which made him nervous which made him lose focus. He struggled with himself to push the images of the lifeless bodies of his friends from his mind and focus more on the task at hand. It would do none of them any good if he screwed this up, and he couldn’t screw this up even if he tried.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Having left McGee where he was, and running ahead of Tony who climbed the ladders up to the roof, Kate and Gibbs found themselves inside the warehouse taking cover behind a crate and a more than likely stolen state trooper car.   
Kate quickly took out one terrorist, already loving the range she had with the rifle, while Gibbs took out another. They met left their positions and met in the middle before continuing up to the roof to help Tony.  
Gibbs was pissed they hadn’t already encountered Ari, but then that would spoil the game. It was typical cat and mouse, and Gibbs wasn’t particularly fond of either animal. He was just glad that Kate was by his side, in life, in fight and in every way she possibly could be. Determined as she was to protect his life, he was just as determined to make sure she wasn’t injured and didn’t personally come face to face with the man they both sought.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Tony was nervous. He had to holster his weapon in order to climb the ladder, and that feeling of vulnerability didn’t sit well with him. As soon as was possible, the heavy metal was back in his hand and he was taking aim at one suspect and firing without second thought. Just as he was taking aim over the wall, searching for a potential target, the drone was launched, which caused the hiss of static in his ear before he heard McGee’s worried tone followed quickly by Gibbs taking charge.  
Moving into a safer position behind a low wall, Tony voiced his confirmed kill as was ready to meet up with his fellow fighters for the last stand. He was reminded of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” or some similar cowboy film in which good met evil at high noon. It wasn’t quite high noon, time was leaning more toward twilight, and he wasn’t sure who the bad or ugly were, but the scenario fit.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs and Kate had just reached the door that would lead them out to the roof when both heard Tony over their earpieces. He turned back slightly, to confirm that Kate was still with him and that she was ready, before he went out first and ran across the roof to hide behind a wall. Kate remained at the door, edging herself out slowly.  
Just as Gibbs fired a shot, she noticed he was about to take one at the same time and didn’t hesitate in pulling her trigger. Gibbs had already moved from the wall and Kate moved into his position, ready and waiting.  
Running across the roof, Tony met halfway with Tony and together they took out their final man that was standing between them and the controller. Tony checked the body, and any other potential shooters before he lowered his weapon and stood beside Gibbs, whose own gun was down and together they inspected the screen and were aggravated to learn the drone was still flying and was about to hit it’s target in less than five minutes.  
“McGee, this thing is still flying!”  
Being on the end of Gibbs’ foul mood was something McGee hated slightly less than being on the receiving end of Abby’s, and it wasn’t really helping his own situation much. He’d managed to get one frequency down before he took fire and dived behind the rear of the car. McGee returned fire the way he was taught and returned to his new location behind the car. Another shot was fired, just as McGee had sat back down, and went directly through the transmitter, causing smoke and sparks. This was shaping up to be a bad day and naturally he had to be the one to relay this to Gibbs.  
Gibbs growled when he was suddenly struck by an idea. Kate had slowly been edging her way towards the two, not liking the fact they had yet to see Ari at this little shin dig he had set up and arrived just in time to see Gibbs blow out the controller.  
“McGee, are you okay?”  
“I got one terrorist inside! I don’t know if I got him, but he stopped shooting.”  
“Hold your position. We’ll flush him.”  
“Okay.”  
Gibbs unclipped his magazine and found he hadn’t enough rounds left for any more big fire fights, and heard Tony say the same. Kate checked her own ammunition and found she had nothing at all left and would have to resort to her sig if she wanted to stay in the game. Just as Gibbs and Tony were about to compare their spare rounds, Kate looked up and saw the barrel of a gun pointing directly at Gibbs and didn’t hesitate in voicing it.  
“Shooter!”  
She ran into position, ready to take the hit, and caught the bullet just as she jumped in front of Gibbs who began shooting back at where the shot came from, Tony joining in just for the hell of it. Kate hit the ground hard and rolled once with the impact. If she’d had time to think things through, she would have felt her head throb with the rebound before she had rolled onto her side with her arms protectively over her ribs.   
When it became apparent Gibbs had got the guy, Tony lowered his weapon again to preserve the little amount of bullets he did have and rushed over the where Kate lay motionless on the roof.  
“Kate?”  
Tony grabbed her right shoulder and rolled her onto her back. There was a collective holding of breath as Gibbs pulled down the zipper on her jacket and checked for the bullet. Imbedded in the black material, just two inches above her heart was the offending piece of metal that had caused the pained expression on her face.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Ow!”  
Tony and Gibbs looked up at each other and sighed, neither one planning on admitting their fear any time soon, and returned their attention to their wounded soldier. Gibbs reached out and brushed the hair off her face, causing Kate to open her eyes slightly which looked more like a glare.  
“I just got shot at point blank range, DiNozzo. What do you think?”  
“You’re not going to be going to Pilates class tomorrow?”  
Taking one hand in theirs, both helped Kate to standing causing her to groan more as her ribs ground together and more air filled her lungs. Turning so her back was to the sun, she looked at the two men she had just risked her life for and couldn’t have been more happy to see them both standing there with no apparent injuries. She was still bent over slightly, her ribs protesting at every and all movement, but that didn’t stop her from trying.   
“Protection detail is over.”  
Kate struggled to an upright position, but was helped with Gibbs hand on her shoulder, holding her up and comforting her at the same time. There was no chance she was going near a hospital to get checked over, she’d rather have Ducky take a look.  
“You did good.”  
“For once, DiNozzo is right.”  
“Wow. I thought I’d die before I ever--”  
Without warning, Kate felt herself hit the deck for the second time, barely having the time to register Tony yelling at them to get down, more concerned with the pain that suddenly coursed through her body.  
It was bad enough she had the weight of her husband on top of her, putting pressure on her already injured ribs, but she also felt something give way in her left arm when she hit the rooftop and she was pretty sure there was some damage to her right knee at having been pushed and pulled down at an awkward angle.  
After a few minutes, the weight on her left, leaving her only with Tony by her side. He moved her slowly, having already heard her cry out with pain, and moved her into his side with his arm protectively around her. They both looked up to see Gibbs standing a few feet in front of him, his useless weapon raised high scanning the roof tops for the one person they all knew it to be.   
Kate recoiled in fear as Tony tightened his hold on her. The name that had already caused so many problems in the team slowly, but strongly, fell from their leaders mouth as the sun began to set over the rooftops of Newport News.  
“Ari.”


	17. Revenge Is A Seven Lettered Phrase 1 of 4

Revenge Is a Seven Lettered Phrase: Kill Ari  
I don't know what's worth fighting for or why I have to scream  
I don't know why I instigate and say what I don't mean  
I don't know how I got this way I know it's not alright  
So I'm breaking the habit I'm breaking the habit tonight

The adrenaline rush had quickly wore off. The thrill of the fight had been lost. The harsh reality was shining through like a beacon light. She nearly died tonight and nothing would ever be the same again. Everything in the future would all be changed thanks to Tony yelling at Gibbs and helping him to pull her to the ground seconds before the bullet would’ve impacted.   
Seconds turned into minutes and the length of time she lay on the ground, her husband weighing down on her and partner by her side, became an insignificant detail in the grander scheme of things. For all the millions of bullets that had Ari’s name on them, the ones she and her team had loaded into their weapons, one had her name neatly printed on the side.   
It didn’t escape her knowledge at the time when she was still able to think sensibly, she owed Tony her life.  
By the time Gibbs had lifted himself off her to scan the surrounding buildings, she’d already began the journey into shock. She barely noticed Tony helping her to sit up and pull her into his side. She let out the smallest cry of pain when his arm brushed against hers and her knee had locked into place but other than that she had said nothing. Not protesting when he wrapped his arms around her.   
He’d been talking to her, random things like how they were going to track him down and kill him. She’d heard all that for the past year since she’d first encountered their olive skinned, brown eyed adversary and this was where it had led them. This mission was no longer of national security, it was personal. It had suddenly shifted it’s priorities to become one of the biggest showdowns in NCIS history; Jethro Gibbs versus Ari Haswari, terrorist at large.  
The sun had long disappeared by the time Tony had finally left her side to join her man who was still brandishing his gun at an unseen presence. The haunting dusty orange glow that was cast over the rooftops in the horizon had made everything seem surreal, before it finally went down and gave way to rain.  
When the first drop fell, she was already laying back down on the unforgiving terrain of the rooftop and staring up, unseeing, at the dark clouds. In hindsight it was probably a really bad idea to get into a position where she’d struggle to get back up without the aid of at least two men, but she had that there so there was no real worry. The ache in her ribs had slowly started to subside, just as long as she kept breathing shallow enough to not allow her lungs to expand to their full capacity. Her left arm and right knee were a different matter.   
She was so out of it she didn’t realise Gibbs had finally approached her and asked if she was okay. She answered only yes or no, cried out when he touched her arm, and hit out with her good arm when he moved her and caused her more pain.  
She registered being set in the back seat of a car and driven away from the warehouse, presumably to the hospital. The blinding white lights attacked her eyes, which she hadn’t really closed properly in fear of never waking up, and took note of the fact was at hospital. Things got a little fuzzy from there.   
The last thing she really remembers after being taken through the emergency room doors is that the doctor had kind eyes and a gentle touch. She was probably doped to the eyeballs she thinks.  
She finally came out of it when Gibbs was driving her home. She didn’t want to be at home, alone, where he’d probably find her and kill her in cold blood. She pulled a stunt Tony would’ve been proud of and turned the car in the direction of NCIS Headquarters.  
She didn’t fail to notice the smirk plastered across Gibbs lips at her move.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
They’d been in the building for an hour before Kate finally confronted Gibbs, who’d gone into his own little world. He’d helped her change out of her clothes. Her jacket had been discarded long ago, the sleeve of her t-shirt had been cut off at the hospital as had the leg of her white pants. She’d perched herself on the edge of Tony’s desk, left arm in a sling, single crutch beside her wearing his t-shirt and NCIS issue jumper and pair of jogging bottoms. She felt pathetic and knew she probably looked it, but right now she didn’t really give a damn and there was nothing she could do about it.  
It was only his desk lamp that illuminated the room, the main lights having been shut off about three hours earlier, and she could see every frown, every thought and every realisation in the shadows on his face. He wasn’t meaning to ignore her, but his thoughts had taken him far away from the place where good and evil collided; he was imagining what life would be like without her.   
The silence was slowly becoming unbearable, Gibbs was beginning to look sad - a sight she hated to even imagine - and things would be a hell of a lot easier if she had Tony there to take what little tension there was in the room and put it somewhere where it could do no one any harm. It was creeping up her spine, eating away at her until she could take no more and she finally erupted.  
“Why me, Gibbs? Why is that bastard coming after me? Why did he choose me?”  
Gibbs eyes darted back and forth between two of his six computer monitors, searching for hidden answers in useless technology. He hated when Kate confronted him like this, when she expected him to pull answers out of thin air to make her happy. He couldn’t do it and he wasn’t about to pretend he could tell her she’d have the world bowing at her feet at the end of the day. It was impossible.  
“I-I don’t know.”  
It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was all either could come up with, she knew that. It still didn’t stop her grabbing the crutch, hobbling over to stand in front of his desk and getting up in his face.   
She was going through stages. First there had been shock, now it was anger. She was taking it out on him when he was low and weak. She’d never seen him weak or low, and for some reason she was working this to her advantage.  
When she reached his desk her crutch was thrown away and she leant heavily on the desk with her good arm, getting in close enough to be able to count the individual hairs that made up his eyebrows. She wanted to have him look her in the eye and tell her he didn’t know the reasons why she had suddenly become a victim.  
“You don’t know? Come on, Gibbs. What’s that famous gut tell you? Why am I the target? Why is he coming after me and no one else?”  
She didn’t receive the answer she was looking for, why should she have expected one. What she received instead was the uncertain gaze of a man who was at a loss for what to do, whose eyes were empty. It was one thing to look at her and tell her he didn’t know, it was another to not feel anything.  
“You know what? I’m am not going to put up with this shit. I nearly died today and you expect me to believe you don’t know why?”  
On the other side of the room, the elevator doors opened announcing Tony and McGee’s arrival. Kate didn’t want to deal with them right now, not with the mood she was in and she was glad to see that they waited at the elevator while she continued her rant at the man in front of her.  
“When you decide, Jethro, that you want to talk to me, come and find me. Until then, leave me alone.”  
Fumbling to get the fallen crutch and grimacing when her ribs ground together, Kate moved away from Gibbs’ desk with a final glare and headed towards the rear elevator, muttering under her breath about going to see Ducky.  
Gibbs watched her go, his heart aching to hold her and find it in himself to be able to tell her everything would be okay. Knowing he couldn’t talk to her when she was like this, he turned his attention to the two men who were striding from the elevator with an air of serious business about them and the fact they were soaked to the skin having spent the best part of two hours searching a rooftop.  
“Found Ari’s sniper’s nest, Boss.”  
“Roof of the abandoned office building to the east.”  
Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out an evidence bag filled with three individual containers which held three spent rounds. Gibbs rounded his desk and took the baggie from Tony, who was watching him carefully. He’d never seen his boss like this before, not even when Kate had been kidnapped the year before. It was disconcerting to say the least. Seeing their boss was struggling to see the brand of bullet, McGee tried to be helpful by telling him they were Lapua, leading to Tony giving him ‘the look’.  
“I-I didn’t mean that you couldn’t see that, Boss.”  
“I can’t, without my glasses.”  
McGee and Tony shared another look behind his back, more worried than they were before at the fact he wasn’t yelling or reprimanding or being Gibbs. Instead, they let him take charge, looking over the evidence and letting him think it out privately. Silent Gibbs was one persona Tony had never dealt with, and he was scared. He either needed to shake Gibbs to get him back or get the hell away from him. It was with a heavy sigh he decided on the latter.   
“McGee and I’ll go back to the roof, Boss.”  
Gibbs turned quickly and Tony flinched back expected to be hit on the head, wanting to be hit on the head, and was surprised when he done nothing. He was told to put on dry clothes and then he received a pat on the back as Gibbs wandered over to the window which was streaked with rain.  
Gibbs was blocking out the entire conversation happening behind him, instead worrying about the young woman who was down visiting Ducky. He was scared for her because she was reacting badly to this whole thing, he was reacting badly. He tuned back in when McGee eventually spoke up again.  
“Ari had or has a thing for Kate.”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“She told me that he was always coming on to her. In autopsy, when he kidnapped her and let her go.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
A month or two after she’d been kidnapped, Kate locked herself away in an empty interrogation room, reading over various cold cases trying to find anything to break them. McGee came in a few minutes later with a fresh cup of coffee a sandwich and offered to help her.  
“Thanks. You’re a good agent, you know that, Tim?”  
“Sometimes I feel lacking. I mean, you guys always have the answers and sometimes I just feel a little clueless.”  
“I was like that in the beginning, still feel that way now. Especially after the whole Ari thing.”  
“Yeah. How are you handling that?”  
Kate looked down, silently debating with herself whether or not to talk to a guy she barely knew about this. He was a trust worthy guy, she knew this, and he wasn’t the type who would run off and tell DiNozzo what she said behind her back.   
“I still have nightmares sometimes. But it’s getting better.”  
“That’s to be expected, Kate. You went through a lot.”  
“Yeah. You know, when I first met him, and I tried to stab him, I faltered. When he pulled me against him, it was like he was enjoying it, he was enjoying everything about it.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“He…he’s attracted to me. The whole reason he kidnapped me wasn’t so he could get information, it was just so he could stare at me. Have you ever known a kidnapper to offer their hostage wine? Or to put themselves between someone who tried to hit them? I don’t even want to think about what it means that he let me go relatively unscathed. But I know he likes me. And he wants me.”  
“Have you told Gibbs?”  
“He’s vaguely aware that in the beginning I was attracted to him, but that wasn’t entirely my fault. DiNozzo had already suggested Stockholm Syndrome, but…He doesn‘t know about Ari‘s attraction and for now I‘d like to keep it that way until it‘s absolutely necessary to tell him.”  
“And that day won’t be for a very long time. You wanna know what I think?“  
“Go for it.“  
“I think you intimidate him. He’s scared of you because he knows what you can do, and he doesn’t want to come across as weak in front of you. Maybe he’s trying to make you prove your worth and see what your capable of. If I was him, I’d be absolutely terrified of you.“  
“Yeah?”  
“Definitely. Kate, what do you see when you look in the mirror?”  
“Just an average person. Nothing all that special.”  
“That’s not what I see when I look at you. I see so much more than a run of the mill person. You’re smart and brave, you can stand up to Gibbs and you know how to handle Tony. Even that takes some skill. I know you can handle whatever life throws at you and come out the other side a stronger person. I admire that, and don’t forget that. You’re not alone, Kate, and you can trust me with this.”  
“I know. Thank you, Tim, this really helped.”  
“Any time.”  
McGee reached across the table and placed his hand over Kate’s before he stood and headed towards the door.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“She never told me that.”  
“Gee, what a surprise.”  
Tony raised a hand and smacked McGee on the back of the head, and was told off by Gibbs who sounded more like a father who was tired of his children arguing and just wanted them to stop.   
Gibbs changed his focus to the damaged controller that was on McGee’s table and began inspecting it and asking questions. McGee was all set to find the bullet that went into it and likely ricocheted into the car.  
“Abby should be here by now. Tony, see what you can pull off that brass.”  
“Sure, boss. How’s Kate doing?”  
“She’s fine. I can’t talk to her when she’s in one of her moods, but she’s fine. I think, I don’t really know. Uh, she went down to Ducky, and she’s probably seeing Abby now. Uh, I’m going for coffee. Can I get you boys some?”  
“No.”  
“Thanks.”  
Gibbs nodded and left the squadroom leaving behind him two very disturbed agents. The watched him walk out, debating whether or not to go after him and offer him some form of support that he may or may not accept, but then decided against it knowing that Kate would be able to reach him later.  
“That’s a first.”  
“He called me ‘Tim’.”  
“He patted my back.”  
“It’s kind of nice.”  
“Nice? I don’t want nice. It’s not Gibbs if he’s nice.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
While Gibbs had been freaking out her colleagues, Kate had wandered into autopsy to find Ducky in his chair, chewing on the tip of his thumb thoughtfully. She’d never seen him look so out of sorts before and she worried that this would end up giving the man a heart attack or stroke.   
“Ducky?”  
The older gent turned in his chair and smiled at her paternally. Seeing Kate’s current stance, barely supporting herself on the metal crutch, Ducky stood from his chair and rolled it in front of him, beckoning for Kate to sit down.  
“Thanks, Ducky.”  
“Nonsense, my dear. Now I trust, that you have enough sense in that pretty head of yours, that you will never do this to an old man again? I don‘t think my heart could take it.”  
“You’re not old, Ducky. But I promise; never again in a million years.”  
Kate offered a smile, which didn’t quite reach her eyes and prompted Ducky to raise his hand to her cheek. The warmth of his touch propelled Kate into the next stage of her emotional journey. Admittance. Or acceptance. She wasn’t sure which, she just knew she was crying. Everything had finally caught up with her and with her recent fight with Gibbs, she felt worse.  
The tears fell slowly and Ducky brushed each one away as they came. He’d never liked to see a woman as beautiful as Kate have tears stain her face, and said as much. She allowed another small smile and her good hand came up to capture Ducky’s, which was still resting lightly on her cheek.  
“I had a bit of a fight with Gibbs. Well, I yelled and he sat there taking it all.”  
“Believe me when I say, Caitlin, you’re not the first woman in Jethro’s life to yell at him. Also believe, he knows you don’t blame him. He understands your anger and this will all be resolved quickly. Neither of you can stay mad at each other long, Kate.”  
Ducky was always a good person to come to for advice and when in need of a serious talk down. Whenever Kate had felt the urge to quite literally kill Gibbs for even the most stupid things he done, Ducky always seemed to calm her down. She didn’t know if was because he listened patiently while she ranted on or if it was the way he spoke to her, it always done the trick.  
“Come now, let’s see your war wounds.”  
Kate groaned through a smile as Ducky helped her out the chair and up onto a table with her legs in front to keep her knee straight. He carefully removed the sweatshirt that was hiding the sling and her plastered arm, and laid it on the side, neatly folded. The same tenderness was used to remove her oversized t-shirt, leaving Kate shivering in her vest top and sweatpants.  
“That is quite a bruise, Kate.”  
Kate looked down at where Ducky was looking and spotted the rather large bruise that adorned the top of her left breast. She was able to conclude from this that that was one of the reasons her ribs ached. The other of course was hitting hard ground with force twice in the one day.  
“Single shot. Point blank range.”  
“Small mercy for bullet proof vests, then.”  
Kate remained silent as Ducky went on to check her wrist which had been carefully plastered. She remembered being told it was broken in one place and should heal cleanly, and was able to relay this information to Ducky who had gone to get a pen and returned in short order. He insisted on being the first to sign her cast. He moved to her right side and moved her arm so her hand was palm up and signed his message with a flair. ‘Rester sûr, mon cher’.  
“‘Stay safe, my dear.’ Somehow, I always do, Ducky.”  
“And you always will. Especially with one Jethro Gibbs around.”  
Kate smirked but thought it wise to remain silent on the fact, she wasn’t quite up to forgiving the man just yet. Redressing, with Ducky’s assistance, Kate lay back on the cold steel allowing him to check her final injury. Her ribs and arm weren’t bothering her as much as they should, Kate was far more concerned about her knee.   
She felt it rather ironic that she was lying on an autopsy table, talking to Ducky and getting a secondary medical opinion from a trusted professional when really she should’ve been one of his many patients who didn’t answer him back. She listened contently as Ducky told her of a case he encountered in medical school, allowed herself to be put to sleep by the calming, cultured voice that was Ducky.  
Her eyes opened a second later once she visualized what was meant to be. She could see herself lying on that very same table, naked under a sheet with a Y incision across and down her chest, a red and black mark on her forehead where the bullet entered.   
Not a hell of a lot more left at the back of her head where the bullet exited.   
She could see Ducky standing over her body as it first arrived in the dark room in an even darker body bag. Standing there looking older than he was, glasses in hand and wiping his tears before whispering a sorrowful ‘Oh, Caitlin. I am so sorry’ into the air.  
The tightening she felt in her chest when she sat up had more to do with fear and shock than anything else. Ducky was down by her legs, rewrapping her right knee and he looked up to see her eyes wide and scared. He approached her cautiously not wanting to scare her anymore and gently touched her shoulder.  
“Kate?”  
“I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be dead. I’m alive, Ducky, and I shouldn’t be. It’s not supposed to be like this; I could’ve killed Ari right here, in autopsy.”  
She was beginning to get hysterical, and it would do neither of them any good for her to have a nervous breakdown now when the man she needed the most wasn’t around to support her when he should be. Ducky done the only thing he could think of her to calm her, and that was to ask why she hesitated in stabbing Ari when she first met him.  
Kate looked at the man and tried to regulate her breathing after the vividness of her imagination and told him the same thing she told Gibbs; his eyes. She doesn’t know to this day what is was in his eyes that made her not want to kill him, at first she thought they were kind but that theory was swiftly blown out of the water. There was something else lurking beneath the layers and apparently she hadn’t honed her skills well enough to work out what it was in the full two minutes she was held against his chest.  
“His eyes were ice to me.”  
Ducky spoke with no emotion in his voice that it left Kate feeling cold; she’d never heard him sound like that before and he went back to taping the bandage in place and moving away to get her some Tylenol. Just as she was about to apologise for not having been quicker, images of that night and her kidnapping and of the rooftop came to her and again she see’s herself lying motionless on the steel table she was currently occupying.   
Kate swung her legs off the table with a touch of difficulty and slipped forward to the very edge, preparing to slide herself down to the floor. The hiss of the automatic doors announced someone’s arrival and she heard him calling for Ducky before she seen him.  
Gibbs strode into autopsy looking for Ducky, because he’d just left Abby’s where he’d been told that Kate hadn’t made an appearance. It worried him enough that he ran through to the ballistic lab and down the basement stairs, not wanting to wait on the elevator.  
He stopped mid stride when Kate turned to face him and seeing him standing there was her complete undoing and before she knew what was happening, his arms were tight around her. He was worried he was hurting her and when he tried to loosen himself, she moved her legs, working through the pain in her knee and wrapped them round his hips. Ducky motioned to Gibbs behind Kate’s back that he was going upstairs and Gibbs waved him off, keeping everything focused on his wife.  
When they were eventually alone, he told her he was sorry and she told him repeatedly that she was sorry and that she didn’t blame him and that none of it was his fault. She told him at least five times in the one sentence that she loved him, that she was sorry and that she thought she was going to be sick. Thankfully, the last comment never amounted to anything, so when Kate pulled back to ask him why he was soaking, he took the opportunity to kiss her. Hard.  
When Kate pulled back after a few minutes of uninterrupted attention from her husband, she smiled slightly and went back to resting her head on his shoulder, not caring why he was wet or that it was slowly soaking through her sweatshirt.  
“You tired?”  
“Lil’ bit. Don’t wan’ go home.”  
“Stay awake a little longer and I’ll take you to Abby’s. She’s been worrying.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Abby had been in her lab for ten minutes when Gibbs burst in looking for Kate. He’d turned just as quickly and headed for autopsy, calling over his shoulder that Tony had some evidence and that he’d be back with Kate when he found her. Abby simply nodded at his retreating form, knowing it all could have gone down differently.  
She moved about her lab, switching on various lights and powering up specific machines, not knowing what Tony was bringing her. There was nothing much for her to do except wait for Tony and Kate to arrive.  
She’d already cried. Just hearing that Kate had almost been taken from them sent her over the edge. She hadn’t realised just how dangerous being in the field could be; of course she knew the dangers associated with being a special agent, but this had hit them way too close and it almost cost them one of their own.   
It was Kate who, in her way, held them together. She kept Tony in line when it was needed, had already began to calm the beast that was Gibbs. She provided great backrubs when Abby had worked herself too hard and was a supporting shoulder for McGee when he felt weakened by something. She provided an ear for Ducky when he began telling one of his long winded tales, and she never failed to be impressed by what both Ducky and Abby told her.   
Abby just had to face up to the truth and admit that each and every one of them needed Caitlin Jane Todd Gibbs in their lives, whether they knew it now or not.  
It wasn’t just that she was a great agent, but she was a great friend and a great person and Abby couldn’t imagine life without her. She had no real idea how she’d ever worked at NCIS before Kate Todd came along, because somehow, she’d made everything seem better. Even when they were dealing with the nastiest of cases, it was Kate who seemed to make everything all seem good.  
There was no music blasting from the speakers and there was no Caf-Pow to perk her up, all Abby had was the thought that Kate was alive and well and would be in her lab relatively soon. That was just enough to make her smile. Her smile increased slightly when the approaching sound of three of her favourite people could be heard in the hall. Nothing had changed yet everything had changed, all because Kate had dodged a bullet.  
“How’s Hop-a-long Cassidy doing?”  
“I’m fine, Tony. Speaking of Cassidy, how is Paula?”  
“She’s fine. She called a little while ago and wanted to thank you personally. Told her I’d pass on the message.”  
“Yeah, and what message would that be, DiNozzo?”  
“Well, Kate, she said thank you very much and offered her services in kicking some terrorist ass.”  
Abby never heard Kate’s response as she was too busy laughing at her friends relaxed manner, despite everything that was going on. The three stopped just inside the door and watched Abby as she leant on her desk, no pigtails in her hair and just laughed. It made for a refreshing change with current affairs.  
“Abby?”  
Abby jumped and turned slowly in her chair to face them. The smile was quickly wiped off her face when she seen Kate’s tear streaked face, how she was being held up by Gibbs and falling asleep on his shoulder.  
“Hey, guys.”  
“You okay?”  
“I will be, as soon as I tie up my pigtails. How‘s Kate?”  
“I’m falling asleep.”  
Taking the hint, Tony carefully wrapped his arm round Kate’s waist and helped Gibbs hold her up as Abby quickly put her pigtails in and stood up, rolling the chair over for Kate. As she was lowered in, Kate bit back a groan, the pain meds having not quite kicked in yet and looked up at Tony thoughtfully yet her thoughts were interrupted by Gibbs who had swivelled her around and looked at her as he spoke to the rest of the room.  
“I’m going for coffee, can I get you guys anything?”  
“No, I’m fine Gibbs.”  
“No, Bossman.”  
Tony was once again disturbed by Gibbs willingness to buy them all coffee and shared a look with Abby across the room. She was trying to maintain her cover that everything with her was just ‘peachy’ and watched Gibbs’ protective nature show in their presence. She liked this side to Gibbs, it was only herself and Kate who ever got to see it, so for him showing he wasn’t a bastard all the time in front of someone else was rather shocking.  
Kate had also been watching Gibbs, wondering why he was being nice to everyone all of a sudden. It’s not that she was complaining about it, she’d been trying to soften him up for a while now, and it seemed it had happened all by itself. It wasn’t the man she knew, and it was rather disconcerting to see him so concerned with the well being of their team, not that he didn’t care about them, he just didn’t show it openly. It was enough for her to block out the conversation around her and simply stare at Gibbs in slight shock, unable to believe what she was seeing, and not hearing him talk to her.  
“Kate?”  
“What?”  
“You want anything?”  
“No, thanks honey.”  
“Okay. Try and get some rest.”  
Kate smiled slightly as Gibbs bent down and kissed her forehead. He looked up at Abby and Tony, who were still staring at him, and turned back towards the elevator.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The lab was eerily quiet after Gibbs had turned and walked out. Abby had sat in her chair, facing Tony, silently battling with him in a staring competition and was steadily winning. He was trying to work out whether she was truly okay, or if she was putting on a front because Kate was there with them.  
Kate had been sitting quietly in the chair next to one of the printers watching her friends with great consternation. Either they had fallen out, which she knew not to be the case, or they were trying to work out how to discuss the case without freaking her out. Kate had no idea that Tony had recovered the bullet casings from the rooftop and that he was down here to give them to Abby to process.   
She had officially been taken off the case, and personally, she wanted nothing to do with it really. She would be quite happy to help Abby as much as she could in the lab, as long as it had nothing to do with her near death.   
The profiler in her could tell Abby was struggling to deal with everything that was happening, as were the rest of them, but she couldn’t figure out how to break down the staring that was going on between her and Tony. She couldn’t tell whether they were silently communicating or if they were just messing around. Making herself more comfortable in her chair by reclining it back, she stared across at Abby and finally broke the silence.  
“You’re a mess, girl. Red eyes, no makeup.”  
Abby broke eye contact with Tony and looked over to Kate and smiled. Wiping away the remains of black mascara from her cheeks, she smiled some more and picked up the tube of black lipstick that was sitting next to the computer monitor.   
Seeing her friend was on her way to gaining some level of normality, for Abby anyway, Kate smiled gently and closed her eyes, ready for a long overdue sleep. She doubted she’d have a peaceful rest any time soon and was grateful for the rustling of clothes and the silent whirring of machines she was near. The gentle sound of the rain falling outside added to the contentment she felt, and knew she’d be safe for a while longer.   
The conversation between Abby and Tony had picked up again and Kate let the sound of their voices wash over her, not bothering with what they were saying or even caring if they were talking about her. There was a brief moment where Kate’s ears picked up her husband name, in regards to him being weird and she simply told them to watch what they were saying about him, especially since she was sitting right there and not as asleep as she appeared to be. Apparently the fact that Gibbs had yet to slap Tony on the head had left him feeling unwanted; Kate was glad that Tony found Gibbs’ violent tendencies towards him as a sign that he was liked, possibly loved, and that it wasn’t because he was being a jackass.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kate had completely zoned out once Abby had turned the topic to the evidence Tony had brought her. She knew in her gut it was to do with her, and that she shouldn’t really be there to hear it, but there wasn’t any way she could possibly leave. When her best friend started screaming the building down, yelling for no real reason, she intervened with Tony’s help.   
They calmed her down slightly and both gave her a hug which quickly transformed into a group hug with Kate sandwiched between them. Kate doesn’t know how they managed to get her out the chair, standing and holding onto her without causing any pain; she settled on the fact that the pain killers had finally kicked in.   
With Tony against her front and Abby behind her, there was only really one possible landing for her when Tony pushed them down at the sound of breaking glass. She also knew there was only one possible shooter and the fact that yet another bullet had her name etched on the side.  
With both the girls groaning at the same time, Tony was unsure of whether either of them had been hit, or if Abby was groaning under the weight of both of them on top of her and Kate had jostled her ribs and knee again. To be sure, he stayed where he was just in case he was stopping a heavy flow of blood from a gun shot wound.  
“You hit?”  
Abby’s voice was strained when she told him they were heavy and Kate cried out yet again when Tony eventually moved off her and pulled them against the wall. With his senses on high alert and gun primed to fire, he crouched below the window and looked out the pane of broken glass for any signs of their shooter but knowing it was useless. If they were dealing with Ari, which he knew they were, he’d probably have used a scope from a long distance like on the rooftop.  
Abby seemed to be on some sort of shock and adrenaline rush, causing her to feel Tony up while he was trying to protect them. Kate sat in an awkward position on Abby’s right, an arm across her ribs to try and stop the throbbing the fresh fall had caused. She wouldn’t even attempt to do anything with her leg because the pain she felt when Abby moved ever so slightly next to her was enough that she knew there was possibly more damage.   
There was only a few minutes between Tony taking guard under the window and Gibbs running into the lab in a crouched position, turning off all the lights and fridges as he entered.  
“Boss, down! Taking fire.”  
Gibbs ducked down lower and made his way over to where his team were. He could see in the darkness that Kate was hurting again, and that Abby simply didn’t know what to do with herself. This wasn’t what she signed on for when she filled out the application; forensic scientists do not get shot at in their own labs.  
There was enough space between the two women for Gibbs to sit down with an arm around each of them, but that wasn’t good enough for him. He gently manoeuvred Kate into his lap and pulled Abby into his left side.  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah.”  
Abby’s reply was quiet and not like her at all. It was clear she was being affected by this far more than she was letting on to them. Kate said nothing, only burrowing her head deeper into Gibbs’ shoulder. Tightening his grip on them both, pulling shards of glass out of Abby’s hair, he promised them he’d keep them safe and gave Tony his orders. Once Tony was out of the way and talking to the local leo’s, Gibbs let his emotions get the better of him.   
Kate was his wife and mother of his future children, Abby was his surrogate daughter; it was his job as boss, husband and surrogate father to keep them safe of any dangers and to protect them from the few dangers that slipped through the net. He was working it all out in his mind, and in there it seemed simple enough.   
First, he’d assign protection detail for Abby; she wouldn’t understand the full impact of being shot at until later and he wanted someone they both trusted there when the fall out finally came. McGee seemed like an ideal candidate for the job; send him down under the pretence of working with the computer crap.  
Kate was different, Kate was acting different. Whether it was due to her previous injuries, or because she was well and truly terrified, he’d have to do something different for her. Naturally, she’d deny being scared and be willing to help out, but looking at her now Gibbs could tell he’d have to do more than put her under protective custody.  
It was best he work on Abby first.   
“I will get you bullet proof glass.”  
“There’s no such thing, Gibbs.”  
“Okay. Bullet resistant glass.”  
He was still pulling glass from her hair when she shuffled closer and put a hand on Kate’s back. She’d almost lost her again, her best friend, and she just had to feel her heartbeat to know she was relatively unscathed physically. It was that addition contact that pulled Kate from her daze and voice what she’d been thinking.  
“Ari didn’t shoot to kill me on the rooftop, did he Jethro? Now he’s coming after Abby.”  
“Hey, I was walking by that window when he fired.”  
“You’re just saying that to make us feel better.”  
Kate pulled back and looked up at him with teary eyes, as if her whole world was depending on him right now and it probably was. When he looked at Abby, he seen the same expression in her and knew there was nothing he could actually do to prove to them he was the intended target.  
Kate moved her good arm around Abby, pulling her in closer to them and they both rested their heads against Gibbs’ right arm and shoulder. He kissed their foreheads and promised to keep them safe, all the while hoping to a God he’d long since given up on that he could.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
There hadn’t been much for Ducky to do since arriving. There were no bodies, thankfully, other than that of the terrorist scum who had been taken to another location. If it had been up to him to perform an autopsy today he felt he may botch it up out of sheer spite in regards to the FBI for keeping information from them and for almost killing his team. That wasn’t something Ducky wanted to do.  
Jimmy wouldn’t be in; something about a head cold and not trusting himself enough to not sneeze or cough over a body, possibly contaminating any evidence. In a way, Ducky was glad his assistant wouldn’t be around, because he wasn’t anywhere near ready to deal with this type of event. He’d barely been able to cope with the meat puzzle they’d had delivered a few months ago.  
Changing into the customary green scrubs, and equipped with his sterile gloves, the old doctor began a scrub down of each table, removing any lingering bodily fluid before moving the do the same with the empty drawers. There was no reason for the room not to be in pristine condition, it was more than that, but Donald Mallard needed to keep busy so he didn’t think of how things could have been. His hands needed to move to maintain a level of composure he’d need to help the team several floors above him.  
He felt his age today when he’d heard of the shootout and injured agent who may or may not have been one of their own. Never before, after having already seen so many things in his lifetime that were enough to shock a lesser person, had Ducky had to sit down before collapsing when it became clear the injured agent did indeed belong to them and bowed his head in thanks that she‘d be returning in one piece.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The cleaning proved to be a valid distraction; the sweeping motions of the cloth against the steel and the smell of cleaning fluid creating a calming sensation that Ducky hadn’t felt for a while. To say he was startled wouldn’t be enough when the sound of the glass doors hissing open caused him to drop the cloth and bottle on the table in front of him. He didn’t have to look to know that Gibbs had just walked in for the second time that evening. And judging by the sudden change in atmosphere, things weren’t going good.  
“Ari fired into Abby’s lab.”  
“Good Lord.”  
“It had to come from across the river, from Anacostia Park.”  
Taking small steps towards him, Ducky leant against the table next to Gibbs and looked up to him. His eyes were glowing with fear and anger but revenge overpowered both the other emotions. Not sure how to approach the situation, or any further conversations, Ducky jumped in the deep end, with the chance that perhaps his services were needed.  
“Was anyone hurt?”  
“No. They’re a little shook up. Tony’s with them.”  
“In the lab?”  
“In the squad room, writing up incident reports.”  
Ducky pushed away from the table and headed down to his desk at the far end. In his bottom right drawer he kept two glasses and a bottle which he usually only opened on special occasions or to calm the nerves. He liked to think of it as ‘medicinal’ because even Ducky had hard days sometimes. It seemed the right time for it to be brought out.  
Heading back to Gibbs, he watched him focus his attention on the table where Kate had been sitting an hour before. He’d seen it, Kate had seen it and now it was Gibbs turn to see it; Kate’s deceased body hidden by a white sheet on that very table opposite them.  
“I should’ve put her on another team, Duck.”  
“You couldn’t do that. Not to Caitlin.”  
With the drink poured, Gibbs continued to talk about the way it could have gone down; if Tony hadn’t noticed the sun hitting the scope. If he’d listened to his gut and replaced Kate in the first place she wouldn’t have been injured.  
“I could’ve lost her, Duck. I’ve lost men in combat. You hope you won’t, know you will and now, I can‘t help the feeling that I have lost her.”  
“You’re wrong, Jethro.”  
“Am I? Sure, I haven’t lost her physically, but this will change her and not for the good.”  
“That loss is different to one of death.”  
“But she wasn’t supposed to be there! She didn’t have to be. Tom Morrow offered her the chance to get out, go to a different team and she knocked him back. Kate’s an agent and she knows she has to lay her life on the line and she did that instead of saving herself. If Tony hadn’t…”  
“You say you’ve lost men, Jethro, have you ever lost a woman? Let’s face it; you and I are a couple of old chauvinists. Women will never be equal in our eyes, until they’re equal in death.”  
“Kate is my equal. But you’re right, Ducky. This is different.”  
“Because she’s you’re wife.”  
For a second Gibbs cursed himself for abolishing rule twelve because this was one of the reasons; he was letting his personal involvement with Kate cloud his judgement and his emotions were getting the better of him. He was trying to split his time between being there to comfort Katie, his wife, and see to it that Kate, the agent, was still able to do her job. But then realised he wouldn’t be as happy as he was.   
If he’d never gone to Kate’s apartment that night, he would still be that misanthropic, cursed old man. He’d be standing here mourning her loss instead of feeling the relief of knowing she was sitting upstairs. As hard as he tried not to, sometimes all the ‘what if’s’ crept up on him.  
“Why Ducky? Why’d he aim at Kate? Why not me?”  
“Well, maybe he meant to hit you.”  
“No. His sight was on par with her; he was aiming for Kate. She raised a valid point; he wasn’t aiming to kill her. If he wanted her dead he could’ve done it at the farm, or down here when he held you hostage.”  
“Then he’s torturing you. One has to wonder: what made him such a sadist?  
“I don’t give I damn! I just want to kill the bastard.”  
The empty glass was set down on the table, and Gibbs left with a determined stride. Ducky knew he’d go to his Katie first, then check that the agent she was still there in her. What Gibbs didn’t hear as he left the man to the remainder of his drink, was Ducky telling him he wasn’t the only one.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
After the shooting, McGee had arrived in the lab and seen a sight that would forever be embedded in his mind; both Kate and Abby crying. He guessed that everything that was happening would put Abby in a tailspin but he’d never have figured that it would take Kate down as well.   
There was no hesitation as he ran towards them, telling Gibbs that Tony had sent out a few top level agents to meet the police at Anacostia to get the evidence and do a thorough search of the area. The hesitation came when he didn’t know who to help first; both his friends were in an equal state of distress, but Kate was the injured one. It stood to reason that she be the one to help up first.  
The second she and Abby were standing, Gibbs got up and took Kate back into his arms as Abby put on a brave face and told McGee they were okay. He agreed with her for the sake of argument, gave her a hug and escorted her out to the elevator, Gibbs and Kate following behind.  
Tony met them at the rear elevator, waiting until McGee and Abby were at McGee’s desk, and told Gibbs what he already knew as he passed Kate over to him. She went a little too willingly to Tony, shocking both he and Gibbs but neither said anything. Everything that needed to be said was conveyed in the glare which Tony took to mean if anything else happened to her, he’d have no need to look for another job as he’d be dead. With a serious nod, Tony started walking back to his desk with Kate who was hobbling beside him.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The stony silence in the room was broken only by the sound of pen on paper and the filing cabinet opening and closing. Kate and Tony’s reports, with them having previous experience, were written up quickly, and McGee was helping Abby with hers.  
Tony watched Kate from his desk; her head was down and she was doodling something or other on the paper in front of her. If he wasn’t looking as close as he was, he wouldn’t have seen the subtle shaking, or the tear silently making it’s way down her face before she wiped it away. He could see she was aching, more than just physically, and Tony wanted to do nothing more than take it all away from her. But this was Kate Todd he was looking at. The same Kate Todd who, just a little under two years ago, made Gibbs look twice at her before he attempted, and failed, to get rid of her. The Kate Todd who verbally sparred with him on a daily basis and always seemed to get the last word. The Kate Todd who charmed their boss enough that he married for the fourth time. The Kate Todd who risked her life to stay in isolation with him two weeks ago.   
It had become apparent to Tony, in the time he’d known her, that Kate’s motto in situations like these was ‘deny, deny, deny’. Deny anything was wrong. Deny the situation got to her. Deny she wanted to curl up and cry. It worked for her sometimes, but right now there was no way she would deny anything when asked. If she were in the right condition, he’d have taken her down to the gym to vent her obvious frustration at the way things were going. Engage her in a tiring sparring match until she collapsed with exhaustion and was able to forget her problems and at the same time get a good night’s sleep. If he thought it would do her any good, he’d walk over to her and tell her ‘everything will be alright’. But that would be a lie, a breakable promise and it would only earn him a slap to the head or an elbow to the gut.  
Movement off to his right caught Tony’s attention and he looked over to find Abby dragging McGee away by his tie towards the elevator, muttering something about the correct procedure for bullet extraction. As the got in the elevator, he heard McGee telling Abby he was pretty capable at retrieving evidence, but he’d accept any help she offered.  
Kate had lifted her head at the sudden commotion, and smiled slightly at Abby’s antics. She knew they wouldn’t ask if she was all right because they knew that she probably wasn’t. As she was about to distract herself again by random doodling, she looked over at Tony and realised she hadn’t thanked him yet. He too had been watching Abby and the second she had vanished from sight, Tony turned his gaze back towards Kate, only to find her watching him.  
The decision of whether or not to go over to her was made for him, when the smile she gave faltered slightly and became more of a sad smirk before she lowered her head and went back to drawing. If he was the type of person who believed in ‘letting people work through their own crap’ he’d have smiled back and lowered his head back to down the pretend to work. That wasn’t Tony.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Kate.”  
Kate had been so distracted by what she was drawing that she jumped in her seat when she heard him, never realising he‘d perched himself on the edge of Gibbs desk. She’d been focusing too hard on blocking the world out, on forgetting what had happened and that couldn’t have been a good thing. It was too dangerous right now for her to be so unfocused, unguarded.   
Eventually there would come a point where she’d have to face him, look him in the eye and try not to let her emotions go. Looking at him now with her shields down would be her complete undoing. Turning her chair so at least her body faced him and she wasn‘t being too rude, she kept he eyes focused on the drawing.  
“What, Tony?”  
“I’m not gonna ask the age old question, because you don’t have an answer other than ‘I’m fine’, but I’m just checking in.”  
“You’re right, I can‘t say anything other than fine. And right now, I can’t look at you because I’m scared if I do, I’ll cry. I‘m not afraid to admit I‘m breaking.”  
“Kate…”  
Slamming the pencil down on the desk, Kate brought her hand up to her forehead, trying in vain to rub away the headache that was building and disguise the shaking that had just started. She could tell by Tony’s tone of voice that he was going to tell her it was okay to cry, and that he wouldn’t tell anyone if she did. Slowly throughout the night, she’d been becoming a person she didn’t like. A person she didn’t want to be. She was weakening and that was one of the things that scared her the most. If Ari had intended to kill her, knowing there’d be chance she’d be thrown out of the way, was his backup plan to have her slowly disintegrate into a weakened woman? To lose all the fight she had in her? She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.  
“Why didn’t he kill me when he had a chance last year? Why did he wait until now?”  
“I don’t think it was a case of wanting to kill you, or even wanting you harmed. Him sniping at you and Abby means he’s after the people Gibbs loves the most; you’re both at the top of that list.”  
“Yeah? So that means his ex-wives are at the bottom. Why the hell couldn’t he start there?”  
There was enough bitterness in the comment to prompt Tony to laugh a little, despite the situation, causing Kate to look at him. She wasn’t wrong; she was breaking. The seams to her control were about to burst and any moment now he’d be witness to the fall down of Caitlin Jane Todd.  
In the end, it all came down to Kate knowing she had a support system around her, and that they’d go to all lengths to make sure she would be okay. Even if it meant sacrificing their image for the sake of a hug. Sacrificing their lives for revenge. With that in mind, Tony stood from the desk, moving to Kate and helping her out her chair. She looked at him as if he were going crazy; their relationship was filled with sharp elbows and one-upmanship, not friendly hugs and affection.  
“Tony, what are you doing?”  
“Something I should’ve done when Ari first appeared on the scene. I’m giving you a hug.”  
Nodding her affirmation, Kate gently stepped up to Tony, who in turn wrapped his arms carefully around her waist. He had seen how she reacted on the roof when her ribs had been touched, and didn’t want to cause her any more pain than she was already in.  
Resting her head on his shoulder, Kate felt everything come to a head and resisted the urge to breakdown. She wouldn’t cry in front of him, or anyone else, other than Gibbs, because she didn’t want to appear weak to them. But right now, Tony had her covered and the way his hands were running in random patterns over her back seemed to draw out some of the tension she‘d been feeling.  
It wasn’t awkward, despite them never having shown this kind of affection for each other before, it was everything Kate knew a hug to be. There was no urgency to move apart, both quite content in the warmth and strength they got from each other. Not able to find the words to thank him just yet, Kate stood in the silence, her arm around Tony’s waist, hoping her message would get through loud and clear.   
It was only when Kate could tell what Tony was thinking, in the way he pulled her closer and held her firmer, did she bring their trademark bantering in to disperse with the seriousness.  
“Hey, Tony.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Your hands go any lower…”  
The threat being left unsaid, as they both knew what she meant, Tony laughed into Kate’s hair, trying not to think of how it would be never to hear her voice or her laughter again. He’d see to it that that would never happen as long as he was around.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When Gibbs had left Ducky, he’d headed into the squad room briefly to raid the filing cabinet for dry clothes before disappearing again. He’d gotten changed, left his wet clothes in Abby’s office to pick up later and gone to the break room.  
Sitting at the same table he’d sat at with Kate earlier, he couldn’t help but replay events on the rooftop differently. If Tony hadn’t yelled when he did, Kate wouldn’t be upstairs, she’d be with Ducky. The nightmare he’d had on the morning Ari had kidnapped Kate last year had almost come true, and he didn’t have to close his eyes to see that image.   
It was one that had stayed with him for the past twelve months. It came to him when he slept, it was there when he couldn’t see his Kate in the flesh and blood. It was in front of him right now; nightmare Kate. She was different to the one he’d seen in his dream, because this Kate talked back. This Kate accused. This Kate blamed him.  
When they’d first arrived in the squad room, after their detour to the hospital, the Kate in front of him that was yelling and arguing with him wasn’t the relatively uninjured Kate. It was dead Kate. It was why he couldn’t look at her, why he couldn’t talk or give a definitive answer. The words real Kate was saying to him, were distorted by the words dead Kate was saying.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
“Why me, Gibbs?”  
Kate was standing by Tony’s desk, dressed as she had been on the rooftop. Her Kevlar vest was in place, her windbreaker was on. There was a bullet entry hole in the centre of her forehead. She was angry. Angry at him. She was looking at him, trying to provoke some sort of reaction to her being there, but she got nothing.  
Pointing to the bullet embedded in her vest, she got angrier. Her voice got louder, her accusations flying. Each and every word went over his head.  
“Wasn’t stopping one bullet enough for you? Why did I have to take two?”  
“I-I don’t know.”  
“You don’t know?”  
She didn’t believe it. He didn’t believe it. Gibbs knew everything, that’s why he was Gibbs. That’s why his team held the record for most crimes solved. That’s why his team were the first called to a scene. That’s why the director favoured them over any other team.  
“Come on, Gibbs. What’s that famous gut tell you?”  
Her voice was coming back to him now, and he briefly caught a glance of her standing directly in front of his desk, leaning in, still trying to provoke a reaction. He couldn’t take his eyes off that hole in her forehead. The one that caused her blood to pool under her head on the cold concrete roof. The one that liquefied her brains. The mark that meant she was…dead.  
“Why did I die instead of you?!”  
It had been at this point, real Kate filtered through his guilt ridden thoughts and dead Kate vanished. He’d glanced at her again, and saw no mark on her skin, just anger. By the time he’d come back to his senses, Kate had already left the room, leaving him to talk to his two other very confused agents.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
He had to leave. He had to distance himself from his thoughts before they clouded his judgement more than they were. If he focused on his revenge, which he would get, then there would be little time to feel sorry for himself. There would be plenty of time to think once that bastard was in the ground.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
He arrived in the garage to find Abby, dressed in a red jumpsuit, with her head buried in the boot of a car. McGee stood behind her, apparently admiring the view and Gibbs couldn’t resist sneaking up behind him. Abby, naturally, knew he was there before McGee but it didn’t stop her from telling McGee to stop staring at her butt. She explained everything they’d found to Gibbs, who was checking the bullet hole in the side of the car where McGee had taken cover. In the kindest way possible for Gibbs, he told the young agent that he did owe the terrorist from the warehouse a thank you as it became apparent, if McGee hadn’t moved when he did, he’d have been paying Ducky a visit himself. Tony arrived down not long after Gibbs, with news that Metro P.D. had found a case in the park next to tyre tracks. There were unasked questions about Kate, which Tony answered as best he could with a silent nod of his head.   
“And?”  
“Nothing. I was waiting for you to tell me to tell them to bring the evidence here ASAP.”  
“What. I have to tell you that DiNozzo?”  
“You always do.”  
Tony smiled charmingly, he too trying to provoke a reaction from Gibbs other than what they’d been getting from him all evening. He wanted the head slaps and the growling and the glares back. He needed it back.  
“Tell Metro P.D. to -”  
“Already did, Boss.”  
As Gibbs walked away to the elevator, there was a look border lining on being a glare, yet not quite as intense, and Tony felt his spirits rising at the prospect of Gibbs slowly returning to normal. It would take a while longer of harassment and general pissing around, but Tony felt he was the most qualified person for the job.  
“Oh, and by the way, the director wants to see you up at MTAC.”  
The doors closed, leaving Tony standing with that smug, superior grin on his face and a thumb up. McGee looked confused as normal, while Abby’s mind was ticking over. She knew what he was up to, and she wasn’t exactly against it. Even if she did like how Gibbs was treating them, it wasn’t the man they all knew.  
“Why are you baiting Gibbs?”  
“Trying to get him to stop being nice.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The ride upstairs was silent, slow, peaceful. Nerve wracking. There were many possibilities as to why Morrow would want to see him. Perhaps he had reconsidered what Gibbs had said about resigning and was accepting his offer. Perhaps the document he’d filed to the director’s office hours ago had been approved, or maybe not. That could be the reason he was summoned.   
It was while he and the team were writing up their after action reports when they had initially arrived in the building together. He’d written his up quickly and taken a silent look round his three agents, each remembering events differently. His eyes lingered a little longer on Kate, taking in her injured arm and the fear that was in her eyes.   
Out of all of them, she had to be the only one injured. The only one to dive in to take a bullet. It had been her job in the Secret Service, but she couldn’t just shut off what years of training had instilled in her. Protecting someone like that was as natural to her as brushing her teeth. It made her relatively more braver than him, and he wouldn’t deny that. It made her a stronger character than he’d first pegged her to be.  
He moved his gaze to the document he had on his desk, sitting under his report. He wasn’t being biased by doing this; he’d do it for any one of his team who he felt deserved the recognition, it just so happened to be Kate. All he had to do was sign the request, put it in with the reports and leave it up to the director to decide. Morrow would see through reading the reports why he’d filed the recommendation in the first place.  
But now wasn’t the time to think of what he’d done for her. Now was a time to make sure he was suitably attired for his meeting, and that required taking a short cut through the office for the suit jacket he had hanging over his chair.  
The elevator stopped on his floor and Gibbs stepped out quietly and determinedly. He hadn’t got very far, when he spotted Kate in his chair, sound asleep. He stopped where he was, allowing himself a small moment of peace.   
She was curled up as small as she could get, one leg underneath her and the other resting on the edge of his desk. She would be sore later when she woke up, but for now, Gibbs was quite happy to let her be. She looked calm, something she hadn’t done for almost three days now, and he hated to disturb her when it looked as though she was having a nightmare free sleep, but she was wrapped in his jacket.  
Cutting past his desk quietly, he headed straight to hers in order to pick up the blanket that lay in the bottom drawer of the desk. As he was turning to go back to her, Gibbs spotted her sketchpad hidden underneath a few sheets of paper. He always loved looking through her work, because she was extremely talented and perhaps didn’t know just how much.   
His favourite drawing she’d done recently was of the two of them asleep together in bed. He loved it so much because she’d captured them and the moment so brilliantly, as only she could. When he’d had the chance later to look at it more closely, he’d realised that she’d placed them in the cabin they’d rented on honeymoon. That had brought back countless memories for him.  
Picking up the sketchpad now, he wasn’t surprised to see sketches of Ari staring right back at him. The way she’d drawn him, obviously from memory, made him remember her very first encounter with him and why she’d been able to put exquisite detail into his face.   
The page had been split into three, equal sized rows and each one depicted a different time in which she met Ari. The first was clearly from autopsy; this was how she’d first viewed him to be. An unknown man with kind eyes and an alluring smile. Even on paper he could see why she’d be attracted to him. She’d drawn him with those eyes, that smile, and had even been able to capture his thoughts right there in his face. It was unnatural the amount of detail she’d put into it.   
The second was from when he’d had her kidnapped. The detail was still there, but the kindness in the eyes had vanished as had the enchantment of the smile, leaving way for what Kate had finally seen in him. He was rougher round the edges in this one, perhaps how Kate seen him.   
The first being the suave, debonair stranger who captured a small piece of her heart after one meeting; the fantasy man. The second being a corrupt, evil assassin who was there for one reason and one alone; the killer. It was in this drawing Gibbs could see the promised threats, which Kate probably had no idea she’d included. She drew what she knew, and she knew this man was dangerous.   
It was the third and final image that made his heart clench and breath stop. This was the picture of Kate’s wishes, which Gibbs would be sure to make true for her. It was the eyes that stood out most from the drawing, not the bullet hole in the centre of his forehead, which had also been sketched to an almost lifelike quality, as if he were looking down on a photograph. The eyes were dead and lifeless. No cheeky sparkle as in the previous two, no kindness, no promising threat dancing behind the iris. He’d make this drawing a reality, no matter what the cost.  
Putting the pad back, he took the blanket and went back to his desk where Kate slept on unaware. He hadn’t realised just how long they’d been in the building until he noticed the sun was creeping in the large windows at the end of the room, the water droplets on the panes creating a waterfall effect on the carpet. Checking his watch, he noted this would be the time Kate would be waking up next to him and greeting him with sleep glazed eyes and a warm smile. He wanted that now.   
As if on cue, Kate groaned as she began waking up, her position having given her an ache or two. To make up for not having a suitable place to sleep, he’d likely give her a massage at home once everything was taken care of.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The obnoxious sounds of an office coming to life broke through the fog that encased Kate’s head, leaving her confused and unsure as to why the noises were encroaching on her peace. As she became more aware of her surroundings, and of the crick in her neck thanks to the position she had somehow contorted herself into, she recalled never having left the office the previous night.  
With the remainder of her senses having caught up to her hearing, Kate gathered she was in one of the uncomfortable office chairs, and that it wasn’t hers. The sensation of being watched crept in and Kate’s eyes fought the exhaustion to open just enough to see who was with her. She was silently elated with whom she found.  
“Jethro.”  
Her voice was husky with sleep, making Gibbs smile when he realised she was awake and staring at him through half closed lids. If he had the time, he would’ve sat with her for an eternity but for the moment their time together would be brief.  
“How you feeling?”  
“I’m fine. Achy and a bit stiff. Nothing a stretch won’t cure.”  
As she spoke, Kate stretched her right arm out until the socket popped and the muscles relaxed; leaving her arm a temporary dead weight.  
“The Director wants to see me up in MTAC.”  
“What does he want? Is he going to pass the case over?”  
“I don’t know. If he tries to pass it over, there’s no way I’ll accept it; you know that. But the sooner I get up there, the sooner I find out.”  
“Well get going, I’ll be here.”  
“Honey, I need my jacket.”  
Kate smiled a little as she unwrapped herself and handed the jacket over, catching his hand in hers to kiss his knuckles, before letting him take it from her. Placing the blanket on the desk, Gibbs slipped his jacket up over his shoulders, running his hands over his chest and down his arms to smooth out any wrinkles.  
Kate ran her tired eyes over Gibbs face, taking in every line and mark she could. She’d memorized his face months earlier, but was always checking for something, anything new. Sometimes there’d be an extra laughter line, or a new worry wrinkle. She loved every part that made Gibbs who he was, and as she admired him, Kate indulged herself in a little “After Ari” fantasy. She hadn’t got very far before Gibbs interrupted her dreams by tucking the blanket up round her shoulders, making sure she was completely covered and warm.  
“I shouldn’t be too long. When I get back, I’ll take you home for a proper rest; think you can stay awake?”  
Kate looked up at Gibbs, who was waiting rather patiently for her response, and smiled. He leaned down, hands on either arm rest and looked into Kate’s tired hazel eyes. She looked back at him just as hard, her smile growing wider as she answered his silent question with a single blink; it seemed that was all he needed to give her a quick kiss and turn away to go to his meeting.  
Her eyes followed him as he walked through the office, up the stairs and across the landing. Only until the steel door to MTAC opened and Gibbs vanish inside did Kate pull her gaze from him and allow her eyes to close again, to take her back to the place she felt most safe at the moment; her dreams.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The room was dark upon entry, save the glow coming from the large plasma screen at the head of the room which was currently displaying a mission of sorts that was underway. Gibbs paid no attention to what was happening up there, instead using the low light to find the director, which was no easy task with his eyesight.  
The director was a well built man, who was easily picked out in a crowd. Even in a room with a lack of sufficient lighting, Gibbs spotted Tom Morrow sitting on the far right hand side, apparently watching the happenings on screen, but appearing deep in thought.   
For a man who ran a government agency, he was up to date on all the team happenings, right down to what they had for breakfast, without even having to step foot outside his office. Only on a few rare occasions had Gibbs had personal dealings with the Director on a semi personal basis, and that was only when a case got to close to home, like now.   
Most of the time, Morrow was quite happy to let Gibbs lead the way in his team, which was what he liked, but found himself stepping in when needed. He was also a man of very little words, his actions and silence speaking louder than any term or phrase could.  
Gibbs made his way silently down the first step and cut across to the director, stepping past him to take the empty seat on his right. For a few moments, they both watched what was happening on screen, but not really taking it in; each man was trying to come up with the words to start the difficult conversation which would ultimately lead them no where.  
“What do you have?”  
“Brass from Ari’s sniper’s nest, three bullets, tyre tracks in Anacostia Park. Ari fired a shot across the river into our forensics lab.”  
“Unusual for a sniper not to police his brass, isn’t it?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
Deep down, they both knew where this was going. Morrow was going to request that Gibbs pass the case over to another team, perhaps Balboa’s. Neither were happy at how things were heading, especially a personal vendetta against an agent or two. What Gibbs didn’t know, was that his wife’s reputation for being a hard ass seemed to precede her and she had instantly become a hit throughout all the agencies.   
Speculation had first started after her original interactions with both NCIS and the FBI, and how she’d assisted the famous Agent Gibbs, hadn‘t been fooled by their games but how the FBI had. It had been since that day that Tobias Fornell had known he was up against someone who wouldn’t be discouraged, especially now she was paired with one of the most cursed about agents NCIS had to their name.  
The FBI had gone by word by mouth, thanks to Fornell, and everyone from the DEA all the way up to the SecNav knew that Caitlin Todd wasn’t one to be messed with. Especially being on Special Agent Gibbs’ team. The Secret Service had also done their fair share of talking; of how disappointed they’d been to have lost a rising agent. And now, it seemed, the CIA had gotten wind of her.   
In the past few hours, Morrow had received countless calls from agency directors, and even individual agents, wanting to put their name toward taking down whoever was going after Kate; she’d become quite a favourite among them.  
To say Tom Morrow was proud of his young agent would be a major understatement.   
“I’ve received calls from every director I know, promising to hunt down the sniper as if he’d come after one of their own. It seems Agent Todd is highly favoured in the circle of federal agents.”  
“FBI might be the most help; Ari Haswari is their mole.”  
“I endorsed your recommendation to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Special Agent Todd.”  
Gibbs felt his heart stop when Tom told him. He knew Kate would most likely kill him for it, tell him she had done what anyone would have or that he was being biased. This was all probably true, but he felt she’d earned it and he was sure everyone else did; especially if the director was endorsing it.   
“Thank you, sir.”  
“I’d also consider having her see the in-house counsellor. At your discretion, of course.”  
“Of course. But I don’t think that’s needed, sir, not yet.”  
“Jethro, I’m leaving it in your hands. Maybe Special Agent Todd doesn’t feel the need, but what about Kate? You need to look at both sides of the coin.”  
“I’m doing all I can, sir.”  
“How is Kate?”  
Gibbs was silent as he considered the question. If he could separate his Agent Caitlin Todd from his Katie Gibbs in his mind, he ,might have found the answer easily. If he could see the differences between his agent and his wife, he might have responded quicker.  
Kate wasn’t being an agent; she was off the case which meant she had no professional opinion on what was happening, it was purely personal. Running with this thought, Gibbs realised Kate had been unnaturally quiet and, with the exception of her breakdown in autopsy, emotionless. He knew he’d have to fight with her to break her walls down; get her worked up enough that everything she was feeling was brought to the surface and expelled.  
“Denying anything’s wrong. And being a little too glib for my liking. She’s going through the motions; so far we’ve have shock, anger, partial acceptance. We’ve just got to wait it out, wait for her to accept she was almost…”  
Morrow caught Gibbs hesitation to finish his sentence, to accept himself Kate had almost been lost and decided to take their conversation down a different road.  
“She’s a strong woman; has to be being married to you. I’ve put her down for six weeks medical leave, paid. I’ll add another week to that.”  
“Appreciated, sir. By both of us.”  
The silences between them were starting to become frequent and for lengthier times. Gibbs was considering the possibility that not only would he be killed for getting Kate awarded, but also for the length of time she’d be off work. Seven weeks was far too long for Kate to stay at home and do nothing, she was far too active for that, but she had to see it from their point of view. If she were to stay on at work, not only would she be stuck at a desk all day thanks to her knee, she wouldn’t get as far ahead with her paperwork thanks to her wrist. Either way, if she went to work or stayed at home, she’d have nothing to do. In seven weeks, Gibbs had a feeling he’d be requesting time off for himself to recover from Kate doing his head in.  
“According to your after action report, no one actually saw the sniper who tried to kill Agent Todd.”  
“Ari was on a rooftop six hundred meters away.”  
“Extraordinary shot.”  
“No, sir, not really.”  
“You were a sniper with the Corps, weren’t you.”  
“Two tours.”  
“Vietnam?”  
“I’m not that old, sir. Panama. Desert Storm.”  
“Thought you were older.”  
Gibbs was sorely wounded. He could never understand why people always thought he was older than he was, when in truth, he really wasn’t all that older than thirty-seven. And Kate didn’t seem all that bothered by that fact, that while she had just turned a mere thirty-one, he’d be hitting fifty-five in November.  
He’d always blamed his hair and the fact he’d lost his colouring in his late thirties, much the same as his father had, people always assumed he was getting ready to take retirement, or already had. But again, Kate loved his hair; she loved running her hands through it, especially when they made love and always told him it was one of his more attractive and appealing qualities.  
While the room was silenced by the events on screen, the successful end to a mission, both men wondered what this case would mean for them in the long run. In Morrow’s eyes, his agent could successfully kill Ari and in the process, create a bigger rift between them and the FBI than there already was. For Gibbs, it meant whether or not he got to go on peacefully with his life, and Kate, or be forever chasing the one that got away.   
If it were the latter road he chose to follow, he stood to lose everything and everyone in his life and he couldn’t let that happen. Not again.  
“Where was I?”  
“Avoiding using Ari’s name and the word “sniper” in the same sentence, sir.”  
“Your anger is understandable, Jethro. You almost lost a good agent. You want payback.”  
“Don’t you, sir?”  
“That’s a passion I can’t afford.”  
Right from the start, Gibbs could see where this conversation was heading. How Tom Morrow lasted this long as agency director he’d never know. Of course, he was good at the political side of the job, keeping the peace between the agencies when rivalries flared up. But he’d never known the field. He’d never seen the cases on a first hand basis; he got to live them through photos and case files, all from the comfort of his office, seated in a high back leather chair. If he ever did seek payback for any agent killed or injured deliberately in the line of duty, he wouldn’t be running the show from behind the scenes.  
“You honestly think it wasn’t Ari?”  
“No, but there are those who do.”  
Gibbs simply laughed, his suspicions being confirmed. Morrow did believe it to be Ari, but he was being damn political and determined to keep the peace between them and the FBI. Perhaps this was his way of telling Gibbs to let it go. He’d done this twice before and failed. He couldn’t even face the man himself, sending Tobias Fornell to do his dirty work instead.  
It wasn’t going to happen this time either.  
“Those who ran him? Those who thought they had the Holy Grail of moles? Those people covering their asses right now?”  
“Make sure you cover yours when you bring him in.”  
“Won’t be a problem, sir. I won’t be bringing him in.”  
Morrow took a side glance at Gibbs to see if he could place the meaning of his words. He knew by the resolute gleam in his agents eyes, that he meant he wouldn’t be bringing him to be questioned, more likely shooting him in a dark alley and leaving him to die. His reasons were certainly justifiable. Morrow was quite happy to ignore the comment, as he had done when Gibbs offered his resignation, and allow him his revenge.  
“Anyway, you’re not my problem anymore, Jethro.”  
“You firing me, sir?”  
“I’ve been offered a deputy director’s position at Homeland Security.”  
“You’d leave NCIS, sir?”  
“Well, the agency could use some younger blood.”  
“Well, who’d be replacing you?”  
Morrow remained silent as he stood and half smiled at Gibbs, who now seen a possible reason for all the ‘age’ talk. He had to know Gibbs was completely useless at politics.  
“Not me.”  
“Much as I like you, Jethro, I would not shoot NCIS in the head.”  
Morrow turned and headed down the stairs, stopping at the second row of seating to inform someone who looked to be a young woman, “he’s your problem now”, before moving through the crowd of people congratulating each other on a job well done and leaving the room.   
Gibbs followed his with his eyes, even more confused than he had been when he first stepped in. Turning to face his new boss, who was now standing at her full height, Gibbs got the second shock of the week.  
“Hello, Jethro.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Being confined to the office was starting to get to Kate. She couldn’t move from Gibbs’ desk because it felt like she was in charge of something and because every time she did move, it sent waves of pain through her body, reminding her she wasn’t superhuman, as much as she’d like to be. She had some Tylenol, but that, like her sketchpad, was at her desk which meant she could neither dull the pain or draw.  
The cold case files Gibbs had at his desk had been read, her emails, and his, had been checked. There had been nothing new, but Kate figured once everyone had time for the news to sink in, all their inboxes would be filled. She had called her mother, let her know what had happened and then spent fifteen minutes trying to calm the woman down. She left the telling of her siblings up to Brenda-Leigh, but was anticipating their phone calls, which had to come eventually.  
To top it off, she couldn’t even take a five minute catnap. That chance had been thrown out the window when Tony returned with photographs of tyre tracks he was trying to match. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he’d done it silently, but this was Tony, and he didn’t do things by half. Every now and then, Kate caught some part of a lyric he was singing, or a tune he was humming; but it wasn’t as annoying as it should have been.  
Honestly, Kate had been glad of the company, of someone familiar; it didn’t make her feel quite so vulnerable now that her friend, her armed friend was there, despite being surrounded by dozens of armed agents.   
“One way, or another, I’m gonna find ya. I’m gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha. One way, or another…”  
“Tony, I like Blondie as much as the next person, but please. That song is doing my head in.”  
“Sorry, I’ll be quiet.”  
“You don’t need to be quiet, just change the song. It’s annoying hearing the same lines over and over again. Even if it is motivational.”  
Tony’s hands hovered over the keyboard, ready to continue typing, but not being able to at the shock of Kate’s change in attitude. She was being calm and reasonable. Nice. If this had been any other day of the week, she’d have been yelling at him to shut up, he’d retort with something smart to get her riled up and they’d break out in a classic battle of words. This would only be ended by Gibbs intervening and telling them if they didn’t stop fighting and start working, they’d both be fired.  
Maybe she was absorbing all the power that Gibbs’ desk contained; she’d sat there long enough that she almost looked like she belonged. The occasional high and mighty attitude she projected was starting to shine through, indicating that old Kate was making a comeback, and Tony could see the woman he called ’partner’ sitting there several years down the line when Gibbs eventually retired. It was in her posture, even with her injured leg propped up on the table, that at this moment Kate was surveying her future kingdom; he let her, and he would continue to do so for as long as she sat there. If only to keep the almost smile, which looked as though it could turn into a real smile with the right words, on her face.   
“Hey, Tony?”  
“Yes, Kate, dear?”  
“I, um, I’ve been trying to say this since last night, but every time I tried I couldn’t; thought I’d give at a go now.”  
“And what would that be, Katie?”  
Kate laughed lightly, finding this harder than she thought, and dropped her head to look at her hands. Her arm was starting to itch where the cast was and it was becoming damn annoying. She wondered briefly if Tony’d let her borrow his letter opener for pure itch relief purposes.  
She paid close attention to her fingers of her left hand, trying to work out why she felt so naked. The plaster stopped just above the knuckles, the uneven edge resting where her rings normally sat. That’s when it clicked.  
When they were trussing her up like a Christmas turkey in the hospital, she was told her rings had to come off. This had fuelled the start of Kate’s anger as she started arguing with the doctor. Gibbs had pulled him off to the side when Kate had paused for breath, and explained the situation to him. He was very understanding to her mindset, and left Gibbs alone with her to gently persuade her to take the rings off. Kate watched him remove the chain from around his neck, which held his dog tags, and thread both rings onto it. He couldn’t understand why she was getting so worked up over something so small, and looking back now, neither could she.  
“Kate, you’re zoning out on me.”  
“Sorry, but can you blame me? Look, what I’m trying to say…is thank you.”  
“Yeah, well…”  
She’d made him uncomfortable and now he was trying to work out how to take her praise. It wasn’t anything he was used to, because being on Gibbs’ team meant you learnt for yourself when you done a good job and didn’t need to have anyone tell you so. Kate needed him to get used to it, and quickly, because over the coming weeks he’d be hearing it a lot; especially when her mother got a hold of his private extension number.  
Despite wanting to take this conversation further, maybe explore what Tony was feeling in regards to her practically proclaiming him a hero, Kate’s eyes were slowly drawn away from him by a commotion on the stairs. Tony watched her with interest as she frowned, and turned in his seat to find out what she was watching.  
Gibbs had obviously finished his meeting with Morrow and was standing on the stairs, facing a very attractive redhead, who he was having a very heated discussion with. Tony was suddenly feeling very nervous. Would he have to soothe Kate’s fears at this redhead being on the scene, and judging by her interaction with Gibbs, looked set to be here for a while.  
Kate couldn’t see her face but could tell from the way she dressed and held herself, she was a woman of authority. Her tailored skirt suit fitted perfectly and she looked every inch the woman in charge. The suit would be designer, Kate guessed; far more expensive than anything she herself had ever worn or even glanced at while window shopping. Fiery red hair was done up in a neat, classy chignon at the base of her neck, and like the rest of her, looked to be professionally styled. If it weren’t for the angry frown Kate had a partial view of, she’d have almost looked like a delicate porcelain faced doll.  
Kate’s curiosity peaked immensely, as it was known to do, when Gibbs took half a step up, further into the redhead’s personal space, and gave her half a smirk. The smirk that looked like half a smile and was only given to Kate alone when they were together sharing a private moment.  
Jealousy suddenly overtook minor curiosity and Kate felt the shields go up.  
Gibbs took a step to the side, allowing the woman to precede him and lead down into the squadroom. Parts of their conversation could be heard now as they got closer; her wanting to continue in private, him telling her they could talk on the way to his house. Kate’s house. She would play disinterested for as long as possible, but the last thing Kate needed were thoughts that her husband was having an affair. With the redhead. This is what cemented Kate’s instant dislike for the woman; she was a redhead, and everyone knew of her husband’s former fascination with them.  
But if what Kate knew about redheads to be true, this woman would certainly be one to watch for the moment, judging by the way she was handling Gibbs and was obviously determined to get things her way. As they rounded the stairs, it was clear she was displeased with Gibbs reaction to her and what she wanted.  
“Gibbs!”  
“Hey, I got an injured agent, and a sniper on the loose. I do not have ten minutes to spare. Tony, where are we?”  
“McGee and Abby are working firearms analysis. I’m matching tyre tracks to the vehicles.”  
Tony paid far too much attention to the photo in his hands for Gibbs not to notice that he and Kate had been witness to his conversation, if he could call it that, with Jen. Where Tony was more discreet in his observations by slyly peering over the photo in his hands for a proper look at the woman beside him, Kate was far more obvious; she was openly eyeing the woman with an arched brow, trying to define whether she was of any threat to her marriage or not.  
Kate sat a little straighter, grimacing at the pain in her knee, when the redhead looked in her direction and both women offered the other a tight, unsure smile. With no idea who she was, or how much she knew about her relationship with Gibbs, Kate vowed to keep quiet on everything from her marriage to her personal view on Ari’s attempt on her life. It was no one’s business but her own.  
After checking in with Tony, and preventing himself from slapping the man upside the head for leering at Jen, Gibbs made his was to Kate under the guise of retrieving something from his desk. He crouched down, raiding his bottom drawer while Kate kept focused on the computer monitor. It wasn’t as private as they would have liked, but Gibbs kept his voice low enough for only Kate to hear.  
“You’re stuck here for a while longer, I’m afraid.”  
“It’s fine. The idea of being home alone wasn’t appealing anyway.”  
“I could take you to Maureen’s.”  
“No, she’ll only fuss.”  
“And you don’t think we’ll fuss?”  
“I like you fussing, and you know when to leave me alone.”  
“Well, I’ll be back to fuss once I deal with Jen.”  
“Jen? Know her already, do you?”  
Upon hearing her husband was already on a first name basis with this redhead, Kate subtlety ran her eyes over the woman again, profiling her as she looked around the room. It was clear she was trying not to look too impatient as she waited for Gibbs, and that she was severely unimpressed with DiNozzo’s leering.  
Kate felt a red haze descend as her jealousy rose. It seemed as though Jethro Gibbs had been keeping secrets from her and that wasn’t like him. She knew, in her gut, that he must’ve known her years ago, but whether it had been in a platonic or intimate basis remained to be seen. If ‘Jen’ had a predetermined game plan of recapturing her possible former lovers heart, Kate was going to fight tooth and nail for her man. Injuries or not.  
“I’ll tell you later.”  
“Does she know about us?”  
“No, and I’d like to kept it that way for a while. You want anything from home?”  
“Your red sweatshirt. The one with the hood. Oh, and feed the dog.”  
“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”  
Kate smiled slightly and nodded. The hand that had sneaked it’s way onto her thigh somewhere during their talk, to make up for the fact he couldn’t kiss her, was gradually inching higher and if it continued it would make for a very embarrassing situation. Kate caught Gibbs’ hand, stalling his progress, and raised her eyebrow.  
Gibbs smirked and took her silent warning for what it was, but acknowledged the glimmer in her eye that promised they’d continue this later in a more private setting. As he stood, his knee protested after having been kneeling for so long, and he idly wondered if Kate’s knee would do the same in the future.  
“No one is to leave the building. DiNozzo, keep working on those tyre tracks. McGee’s on protection detail with Abby. I’ll say it again; no one leaves the building.”  
Turning back to Kate, he carefully moved her leg off his desk so he could help her stand up. The padding in the seat wasn’t all that great and he figured not only would her back be sore, but her backside must have been numb having been sitting for so long.  
Jen watched Gibbs’ interactions with his agents with a suspicious eye. More specifically, his interactions with the young brunette he currently had his arms around as he helped her walk. She could see he was protective of her, and the way she leant into him meant she trusted him not to let her fall or get further injured as he guided her around the desk. She hadn’t seen this side of Jethro Gibbs in six years, when she had been the ultimate cause of it. It was a nice surprise to see he was still capable of this amount of care and attention. Affection, maybe? After everything that had happened, especially between them, Jen thought the next time she laid eyes upon the man, he’d be a jaded, older marine. Apparently not.  
It was when the light bounced off the golden band that adorned Gibbs’ ring finger, that Jen realised where the change in her former lover had come from; she could only pray to God that he didn’t divorce again, for the sake of her sanity and his teams.   
“Katie, you’re in charge. I’ll be back in an hour.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Soft green eyes followed the retreating form of the fiery red head who was leaving with the man he called boss. To go to his house. Alone. To have privacy. Tony knew there was no way Gibbs would ever cheat on Kate, not in a million years. But if anything, Gibbs had warned him redheads were dangerous, sly and cunning. And pretty handy with sports equipment.  
When the legs he was watching finally vanished, Tony sat still, his eyes fixed on the elevator doors, almost willing his semi-fantasy woman to return to him. She could almost have been his perfect woman, had that particular person not already be sat opposite him.  
Kate leant against her desk and adjusted the sling which was digging into her shoulder and neck. She was ready to get rid of it, because she didn’t really need it other than to support the weight of her cast. She would much rather have both arms wrapped around Gibbs instead of just one, while the other lay cradled and useless between them. This, Kate felt, fully justified the reasons why she struggled out of the sweatshirt, t-shirt and pulled the sling over her head.  
Extending her arm to relieve the stiffness in her elbow, Kate watched DiNozzo practically drooling on his desk. It seemed strange that she’d reverted to calling him ‘DiNozzo’ in her mind, instead of Tony. She supposed it was because he found fantasizing over Jen far more interesting than trawling through images of tyre tracks; at least from his point of view. She was more than a little disgusted, that instead of tracking down her would be killer, he was sat there daydreaming.  
“Your mother should’ve washed your mind out with soap.”  
Tony turned his head so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. He’d been so taken by ‘Mystery Woman’ that he hadn’t noticed Kate had stripped down and was now wearing less than she normally did in the gym. He’d never seen her in that top, or anything like it before. It wasn’t anything he’d ever imagine her wearing, let alone buying, but it looked good on her.  
It was tight. Black and tight. It barely reached the middle of her ribcage and that, along with the joggers that sat low on her hips, left her entire stomach bare for all to see.  
There was enough material on her to be suitable enough for a top to work out in at the gym, and keep her suitably covered. He screwed his eyes up to try and see the straps, and noticed they were hooked on to the rest of the top. He had dated enough women to know a little about fashion, and figured this was one of those multiway tops, with detachable straps. There wasn’t enough to prevent him having a very clear view of everything. He knew she probably knew this. It would be a typical Kate thing to do wear something like this just to screw with his mind, and shatter any pre-determined ideas he had of her. Just like the wet t-shirt photo.  
Tony praised the day he found the Holy Grail of photos; that his innocent little Catholic Katie wasn’t as innocent as she wanted people to believe. He liked this wild child side Kate had, it was as if she had an evil twin who came out to play every so often.  
When his eyes eventually began roving, he realised why she was probably wearing such a small top; the large purple, almost black bruise that covered her left side would be that reason. Tony knew what it was like to have injured ribs, and any kind of pressure on them hurt like hell, even clothes. But a bruise that size scared him, because he had helped increase it’s size, twice. His eyes moved up again and he spotted the same kind of bruise that was slowly spreading over her breast plate. This was Ari’s doing. All in all, she’d come away from that rooftop a very lucky woman.  
“You see an attractive woman, and your only thought is Nooner.”  
“Was not.”  
“Was, too. I’ve always known what you were thinking, Tony.”  
Instead of responding, because he knew she was right, Tony let his eyes wander again. He couldn’t help it; this was his thing when faced with a gorgeous woman who was half naked, and it wasn’t every day he had that pleasure directly in front of him. He was going to remember every single detail, because he knew this would be the closest he ever got. The wet t-shirt picture and the fact he shared a bathroom with her while she was naked in the shower were nothing compared to this. He didn’t bother being discreet, because Kate needed normality and not treated as if she were a victim.  
“What? What are you up to?”  
Exactly the reaction he was looking for, if he wasn‘t mistaken. He continued to ogle, noting for the first time the freckle to the left of her navel, the scar on the right. He was actually trying to see if the infamous tattoo was visible, but he couldn’t see any ink at all. Still, that didn’t stop him imaging where and what it was. Hadn’t actually stopped since he found out about it.  
There was a gleam in Tony’s eyes that told Kate all she needed to know; he was fantasizing, which was nothing new, but he was fantasizing about her. Then again, this was nothing new either; Kate had just grown used to enough that when he did it, she never noticed. Until now.   
“I don’t believe you! You’re having a sexual fantasy about me?!”  
“Can’t help it; have you seen what you’re wearing? Or not wearing.”  
“Tony!”  
“You know, I’ve often pictured you naked. Looking good, Katie girl.”  
Kate bit her lip to stop herself laughing as Tony licked his lips and got a dreamy look in his eye, as if he were picturing her now. She knew exactly what he was doing, because she’d done it herself. It was easy to not feel like a victim when your partner was making an ass of himself.  
She was ready with a scathing remark on her lips, but only got as far as growling low in her throat when she noticed the woman standing off to the side, smiling amusedly at their antics.  
“Can we help you?”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs had driven at his usual speed, wanting nothing more than to change, discuss whatever it was that Jen wanted and get back to the office. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that the woman who was once his partner was now his boss. She had been a good agent and a great partner, but that was six years ago and obviously a lot of things had changed. He was one of them.  
He ushered her up the steps and through the front door where they were greeted with the small, yappy canine Kate just had to name Tony, pushed her past the living room and straight down the hall to the basement door. He wanted to keep his marriage to Kate on the quiet for now, at least until he had figured out of Jen had an agenda or not; the wedding photo on the wall in the living room would be huge giveaway to who his bride had been. He knew she knew, because he’d seen her glance at his ring, but what he hoped she didn’t know was whom he’d married.  
He waited in the hall until he was sure she wouldn’t leave the basement while he was gone, and quickly ran upstairs to change. All the while being followed by Tony. He smiled when he entered the bedroom, Kate’s perfume hitting him, and went about his business. He didn’t want to take too long away from Jen because the longer he was gone, the more time she had to snoop in his private area. He wouldn’t put it past her to do something like that; she was a trained investigator after all, it was in her nature to search for the clues.  
On his way out the bedroom, he stopped by the chest of drawers, rooting through them till he found the red sweatshirt, with the hood, that Kate had requested. It had been a Christmas present from Carol a couple of years earlier and he had worn it a maximum of five times before Kate stole it and declared it hers. Gibbs didn’t mind. Red looked much better on her than it did on him.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Jen wandered round the basement, admiring the quality of workmanship that had gone into the boat from as many angles as she could find in the room. If this was the boat she had watched him build six years ago, he hadn’t made much progress in that time. She assumed the reason for that was the fact he had remarried, and had no real reason to seek distraction in timber like he once used to.  
She walked round the boat once more before coming to a stop at the workbench and pulling the stool out from underneath. She took her time alone to reflect on what she’d seen in the office; on how Gibbs responded so differently to his agents. Having not had the chance to read over their personnel files, or be introduced, Jen was working purely on speculation. It was easy to narrow down who was the favourite on the team, who had the brains and who had the brawn; she figured the brunette Gibbs had his arms around, ’Katie‘, to be a mixture of all three, but mainly the favourite. ‘DiNozzo’ looked to be the brawn behind the operations, so that meant there was an agent missing - the brains. She decided the first thing she’d do would be to gain access to the files of the agents who worked for Gibbs, and to learn more about them. To find out if there was anything she should know and keep her eye out for. A shadow at the basement door caught Jen’s attention and she voiced her first thoughts upon arriving downstairs.  
“Is this the same boat you were building six years ago?”  
Gibbs came down the stairs quickly, the red sweat shirt in his hands and stepped into the room. He could remember working on a boat in this same basement while Jen watched him from the steps. It had been before Paris, they were simply co-workers at the time and she’d come over to talk about a case. In fact, she was very much like Kate in the sense she knew and understood the reasons behind his boat building obsession and that she didn’t shy away from doing hard work for a masterpiece.  
“Nope.”  
“What happened to it?”  
She was also persistent, like Kate.  
“Burned her.”  
“Why would you…you named it after an ex-wife, didn’t you?”  
Gibbs glared half heartedly at Jen through the ribs of the boat while she smirked back. She knew she’d named it after an ex, Jen was there when he was building the damn thing. She had been his rock, been there when the divorce had finalised and then, like Diane and the others, she’d upped and left him.  
“Which one?”  
“You know damn well, ‘which one’.”  
He looked at her again after he’d turned off the lights in the boat, and found himself seeing her for perhaps the first time since she’d got back. She had aged well, gracefully. There were a few more lines and a bit more weight, but it all looked good on her. It suited her.  
“Why didn’t you change the name?”  
“It wouldn’t matter; every time I went out on her, I’d think of Diane.”  
“You could’ve sold it.”  
“And watch some other guy sail off on her?”  
“You didn’t care who sailed off on Diane!”  
It was clear she was enjoying this, even if it was at his expense. If he’d been meeting her again under different circumstances, when his and his teams lives weren’t in danger he’d have happily bantered with her. But he’d taken her here under the cover of discussing work, serious problems, not his past failed relationships.  
“Leroy Jethro Gibbs…you, are a strange man.”  
“Me? Hah!”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The woman currently sat in McGee’s chair caused Kate’s guards to rise. There was something about her, specifically her eyes, that made Kate’s skin crawl because she seemed hauntingly familiar. If she hadn’t known any better, she’d say it was Ari in drag, but even he wasn’t that good. Maybe with the help of the CIA, but he was a wanted man now and not even they could save him.  
They hadn’t learned a lot about her, other than her name was Ziva David and she was a Mossad Officer who had recently flown in and she was hell bent on speaking with Gibbs, no one else. When Kate had originally tried to pass herself off as the Gibbs in question, Miss David had merely chuckled and stated she wanted to speak to her male counterpart. Kate realised then they were dealing with someone who had obviously been keeping tabs on them for some reason, and she was desperate to know why.  
From the corner of her eye, she could see Tony was intrigued by the newcomer who knew more about them than she cared to let on, but he was also watching her with a suspicious eye. She couldn’t really fault him for finding her, or Jen, attractive or for acting like a dog on heat recently; poor guy hadn’t been very fortunate with the ladies, not even when he played his “I’m sick and poorly” card.  
Even he had failed at getting information from Ziva, playing the “I’m the senior field agent - I command all” card for all it was worth, which wasn’t a lot, but it looked as though he’d had enough of Ziva’s attitude and was ready to have another go.  
“Miss David, you can sit there and slouch provocatively for another half hour if you’d like, or you can tell me what you need, and maybe I can help.”  
“You can’t help me because I’m here to stop Special Agent Gibbs from killing a Mossad officer.”  
As had happened two nights previous, the colour drained from Kate’s face completely, and if it weren’t for the fact she was holding onto the desk with a death grip, she would’ve collapsed. She tried her hardest to keep any hint of fear from her face, but something must’ve shown for Tony to be out his chair and by her side in a flash. It didn’t take her long to find her voice and when she did, she felt the warm weight of Tony’s hand on her lower back, as a silent testament of him backing her up whatever, and she instinctively slid closer to him.  
“Ari Haswari?”  
“Yes.”  
While every part of her being was shaking with fear, anger and hatred, Kate somehow managed to keep her voice calm and level, her tone cold and full of the same hatred that had her shaking, and told Ziva exactly what she thought.  
“I’d wish you luck, but I want the bastard dead too.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
By the time Gibbs returned with Jen, fifteen minutes earlier than anticipated, Kate had pulled her chair up next to Tony’s so he could still do his job. When the pain in her knee and ribs finally became unbearable, Tony got her the Tylenol from her desk, which she swallowed dry, and offered her a massage. Her pain was laid bare when she allowed him to take her right leg in his hands and rub some feeling back into her calf. Neither were entirely comfortable at having Ziva in the office with them, but they couldn’t exactly kick her out with no reason.   
They didn’t say much, other than Tony asking Kate how her knee felt and Kate responding. She could feel Ziva’s eyes on her as she was sitting with her back to her, this going against everything she’d ever been taught, but knew Tony was the master of diverting his eyes and was watching her every move.  
When Ziva sees the flame hair behind the black trench coat worn by the man she knows to be Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, she is out the chair and on her feet faster than Kate has time to recognise the grim look on Gibbs face that spells trouble for them.  
In between Ziva departing her seat and Gibbs heading to his desk, Kate and Tony slowly untangled themselves and followed Gibbs over, knowing he had information for them and vice versa. Theirs seemed slightly more important than his, because while he would only be introducing the red head, they were introducing the woman determined to stop him getting his revenge. There had been a silent declaration between the two, that Tony be the one to tell Gibbs, as he was senior agent and would be more comfortable in explaining the presence of the olive skinned female.  
Gibbs could see the hesitation in his agent’s eyes as all three of them eyed up the two women standing by Kate’s desk, quietly conversing over something or other. He knew Kate would have no problem speaking her mind, although she held her tongue, but Tony seemed to be a different matter. He was waiting it out, seeing how long it would take before Gibbs became curious and asked about the woman who had been sitting with them before he offered up the information willingly. For once in his life, or at least the part he had known Tony, he was going to play into his expectations and ask first.  
“Ziva David, Mossad. She’s here to stop you from whacking Ari. Yours?”  
“Director Jenny Shepard. Same mission.”  
“Which agency?”  
“Ours.”  
Tony shared a look with Kate as Gibbs handed her the requested red sweatshirt. Kate was far more interested in Jenny Shepard now than she was in Ziva David. Peering past Tony, she looked her over again, wondering what it was Gibbs had seen in her or if he even seen past the red hair; assuming of course, her initial thoughts of a love affair were correct.  
Jen was anxious to get the introduction to Gibbs team over and done with, to at least remove the heavy air of tension that had settled on them. She expected nothing short of fireworks once Gibbs was introduced to Ziva and learned of her mission in the States, but perhaps his agents would be more receptive to the idea that Ari Haswari was not their culprit.   
She knew Ziva would’ve explained, perhaps not in detail, her presence and given them a vague idea of who she was and why she was here to the two agents and they would run to tell Gibbs what they knew immediately. From what she could tell when she returned to the office, they were neither thrilled nor displeased with the idea Ziva had given them; but working with Gibbs meant you learnt to school your features to prevent the opposition knowing what you really thought. It was a skill she had picked up quickly.  
She wasn’t expecting an entirely warm welcome from them once they learned that she too was there to stop their boss’s actions, and also that she was their new official boss. Not every battle could be won.   
Ending her conversation with Ziva, and seeing Gibbs had also ended his with “Katie” and “DiNozzo”, Jen led Ziva over to his desk, ready to get the formalities out of the way and move onto more pressing issues. Like how to stop Gibbs killing an innocent man. All three had their eyes on them; “DiNozzo” was leering again, “Katie” was showing some interest in them, but Jen picked out the underlying jealousy and insecurity. Gibbs was his typical self, not giving anything away and was no doubt, not willing to accept what they told him.  
“Special Agent Gibbs, Ziva David, Mossad.”  
“Ziva. Director Shepard has spoken often of you.”  
Kate shot Gibbs an undisguised look of jealousy, still obviously wanting to know how well exactly the two knew each other in the past. He let it slide, knowing Kate wasn’t easily provoked by other women, but also knew he was heading into dangerous territory where these two were concerned.   
“Really?”  
Jen, knowing full well how much she’d told Ziva and knowing where she was taking this, took them down the road of the operation that had been in progress in MTAC earlier when Gibbs had walked in. Ziva suddenly became modest, which wasn’t in her nature, stating she’d only acquired the intel for the op.  
When Ziva stepped away to answer her satellite phone, Jen moved into her place and noticed for the first time Kate had slipped on the red sweatshirt Gibbs had left his house with, and was leaning against the desk casually, next to Gibbs. She would’ve checked the other woman’s hand for a ring, but Kate had kept her left arm under the sweatshirt, and if she had been wearing rings, it wouldn’t have been proof of anything. She didn’t necessarily have to be married to Gibbs, despite what their body language said. And if Ziva knew anything of a relationship between them, she hadn’t said anything and Jen doubted she would have anyway since she knew the full extent of her previous partnership; she tended to use that term lightly.  
The only real problem, aside from the fact Gibbs seemed not to care for Ziva’s presence, was the fact that the man beside her seemed to have a hard time understanding she was the new director of NCIS. His eyes were running over her, and she could see Gibbs was ready to hit him and that Kate was rolling her eyes. She could simply smirk and walk away, letting him think what he wanted, or she could do her first thing as boss and let it be known that she was indeed the new boss.  
“Yes, I really am the new NCIS director.”  
Giving her a lopsided smile, embarrassed at being caught checking her out, Tony agreed with her a nodded his head slightly. This time Jen did smirk, satisfied she’d got her point across and walked away, leaving them to their own devices.  
“Wow.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Once Jen had turned away, Gibbs was on his feet, arms around Kate. He wanted nothing more than to take her away from here, lay her on a beach somewhere and never let her out of his sight. He knew for the moment, Kate was safer here than she would be anywhere else, like at home where she’d be alone and unguarded. There was every chance Ari would come after her again, or push his luck and go for Jen or Abby. His heart was beating at a steady rate knowing that three of the women he cared for were within his reach and for the most part, safe from danger.  
“Did you feed the dog?”  
“Yep. She was running round the back yard last time I checked.”  
“Okay. I’m going to go see Abby, see how she is. I don’t think she’ll take being shot at as well as the rest of us.”  
“McGee’s down there.”  
Kate chuckled and ran her hand over Gibbs’ arm, pulling herself up to her full height and kissing his cheek. It was easy to see why he’d been divorced three times if he didn’t understand the bond a girl had with her friends. She knew that Abby wouldn’t open up to McGee in the way that Kate opened up to Tony or Gibbs. Kate was one of the few in the building who wasn’t afraid of Abby’s outlandish style or music, she accepted it was a part of who Abby was. Neither were afraid to voice their thoughts with the other, confide in each other. It was the best friendship Kate had had in a while, since her job move. She may have been a favourite among her friends when she was Secret Service, but she hardly ever heard from them now. It seemed she wasn’t as important to them as she once had been, and was now waiting to be inundated with phone calls from them; but for the moment, the team, her family was Kate’s priority and a little thing like an assassin wasn’t going to stand in her way to help them through this and Abby’s lab was calling her.   
“And you really think Abby will talk to him about how she’s feeling? McGee’s a great agent, but he doesn’t exactly know how to deal with crying women. And a crying Abby is something else.”  
Gibbs was willing to agree with this, but was distracted by Tony, who was still standing at his desk gawping after Jen. Mumbling something in Kate’s ear, he passed her and rounded his desk to go after Jen and smacked Tony over the back of the head hard.  
“Ow. Good to have you back, Boss.”  
Neither one seen the smirk on Gibbs lips as he walked away, passing Ziva and catching snippets of her conversation which were spoken in Hebrew. His gut was still churning and he knew Ari was still in the area, he just had to work out a way of luring him out of hiding. Perhaps Miss David would be of some use, but he doubted she’d turn against one of her own.  
Tony turned to face Kate, grin in place as if proud of his accomplishment of being slapped. He probably was proud, seeing as he’d been trying to get the man to do it since last night, and he was made to feel wanted again. Just like so many other things, Kate couldn’t hold it against him if he wanted to piss her husband off; she’d been worried at his reaction to things last night, and how he was being so un-Gibbs like, it was nice to see another little piece of normalcy sliding into place.  
Kate hobbled round the desk the best she could, although in hindsight it was probably a better idea to have asked Tony to retrieve her crutch before attempting to walk without it. She could feel the swelling in her knee had decreased immensely, but the dull ache the painkillers couldn’t quite stop was still there and was gradually becoming sharper. Noticing her increasing discomfort, Tony laid his hand on Kate’s shoulder, stopping her where she was and pushed her firmly down to rest against the desk again. He moved away to get her crutch and the bottle of Tylenol sitting on his desk.  
“Maybe you should go see Ducky again?”  
“Maybe. It’s not so bad, as long as I keep off it. Or don’t move at all.”  
“Want me to carry you down to Abby?”  
“No, you should stay here and match those tracks. Besides, I think Gibbs might be a little too, slap-happy, today.”  
Smiling, although it looked halfway between a smirk and a grimace, Tony turned away from her and went back to work, leaving Kate to chuckle at her own little joke. Despite everything, Kate was determined to paint a happy face on disaster, and was going to start by making sure Abby was okay.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Kate hadn’t long left for Abby’s when Gibbs returned to the floor, followed by Jen and Ziva. Gibbs went to his desk, while Ziva took up her former position in front of him and Jen leant against Kate’s desk. He was still unsure about Ziva, though he didn’t let it show, and was now feeling she perhaps knew a little bit too much about him for it to be comfortable.  
“Miss David, whose get cut off it Ari is not a Mossad mole, but a terrorist?”  
“Mine, I suppose, since I’m his control officer.”  
“Ah, they promote control officers young in Mossad.”  
“They have to. The good ones are dead at your age.”  
Gibbs looked up at Ziva and chuckled. She had proven him right by being forward with her statement. Not even Jen knew his exact age, and he’d only told Kate in the strictest confidence and made her swear not to plan anything for his birthday, unless it was to stay in bed all day. She had forthrightly admitted to knowing more than she should about them, and this thrilled Gibbs to the deepest recesses of his infamous gut.  
He asked her if she knew how he located Ari, and she told him it was through the GPS fix he’d got from Ari’s encrypted cell phone, all thanks to Fornell. Apparently, Ziva claimed, Ari wanted them to know the terrorists location so they could stop the missile. If he’d had to do it himself, he’d have blown his cover. Gibbs wasn’t believing this for a second, because Ari wasn’t aware of the assets available to Gibbs at the time, although Ziva pushed him, wanting to know which man had hung up first. To Gibbs, there was no definite proof of who hung up first, as he’d ended simultaneously with the first note of the dial tone from the other end. It may have been Ari, it may have been him. The only true way to know would be to access the phone records and Gibbs wasn’t going to prove her right by doing so, because he knew he’d hung up at the same time as Ari.  
“Ari knows a fix takes only nineteen seconds. When Sharon visited Bush, Ari’s Hamas cell kidnapped Agent Todd. Why didn’t he kill her instead of freeing her to warn the Secret Service?”  
“Why don’t you arrange a meet and he can tell me?”  
They were pushing each other, which was somewhere along the lines of what Jen had expected, but now they were pushing too far. In all honesty, Kate seemed to be at the epicentre of this and perhaps she should be brought in on this conversation so she could share her thoughts on why Ari had not killed her when he kidnapped her, but the woman wasn‘t around for her opinion to be asked.   
In the time she’d stepped away from Gibbs until the time she’d returned, Jen had acquired the agents personnel files and also the reports from each encounter they’d had with Ari Haswari.   
She’d paid special attention to Agent Todd’s file, learning upon first glance that she was “Katie”, and glanced down the file to her marital status and emergency contact. From this she learned the young brunette was indeed married, though the file never stated to whom, and that her emergency contact was Agent DiNozzo. She thought it odd that a co-worker be the first person called should she be injured instead of her husband, or partner, but passed it over.   
The next document that caught her attention was the after action report that had been filled out after Kate had been kidnapped and the profiler‘s evaluation of the man. Everything she’d read in the past half hour became a distant memory when she heard Ziva slam her hands on the desk, arguing heatedly with Gibbs. This was more what she expected when she introduced the two; they were as bad as each other, neither one willing to back down from what they believed.  
“Ziva, assure your deputy director that even though Ari Haswari is a suspect, no action will be taken unless we have evidentiary proof.”  
She waited patiently for one or the other to back down and give their consent, stepping between Ziva and the desk. As was typical behaviour for both parties, neither one were showing signs of backing down and so it was left to Jen to turn the patented Gibbs glare on Ziva until she nodded and stepped back slightly. Turning to Gibbs, she gave him the same glare, which he returned in her direction.  
“Proof before action.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
When she stepped out the elevator, Kate heard the distant sound of gunfire which had her both reaching for her weapon, which wasn’t there, and frozen in place at the same time. Reaching for the gun meant she released her grip on the crutch and she fell back against the elevator doors, and she realised the sounds were coming from the ballistics lab next to Abby’s office. Shaking off her momentary hesitation, she pushed forwarded and headed into Abby’s lab, where she could see McGee sitting at the office table looking decidedly bored.  
Entering the office, Kate could see that McGee wasn’t just bored, he was daydreaming, and hadn’t noticed her arrival for which she was grateful. It was bad enough everyone was treading softly around her, it would’ve done her no good if someone had seen her standing by the elevator frozen in place. She wasn’t going to let one little crime scene mishap rule her life or make her change careers. She wasn’t going to be a woman who flinched every time she heard a gunshot, because she was determined to reach her goals, fulfil several of her ambitions and that meant staying in this line of work.  
Now she was standing in front of McGee, she chuckled at the sight of his spaced out appearance and the fact he’d yet to notice her. It was entertaining to watch the thoughts appear on the young man’s face, but was taken aback when it was clear his thoughts had gone down another avenue and he began speaking to himself.  
“You’re my sweet superhero, Kate.”  
Whatever McGee was thinking, because Kate couldn’t entirely read it, it was certainly entertaining. Even more so when Abby stepped out of the ballistics lab and up to Kate, offering her a supportive shoulder so she could take her weight off the crutch. Neither could help laughing at McGee’s mystified expression, but became silent when his line of sight switched to them. It was clear he was looking past them, or that they hadn’t even penetrated his conscious at all.  
“Oh my God, I’m becoming Tony.”  
Kate was ready to shake him from his stupor as she now knew what McGee was thinking, but Abby held her back, whispering about wanting to see exactly what he was thinking. As much as she wanted to push Abby away and slap McGee for whatever he was thinking about her, it was the first real entertaining thing she’d seen for three days and perhaps a little part of her wanted to see how it played out.  
McGee leaned back in his chair, his eyes going wide and jaw dropping. Whatever he was visualising it had certainly taken the wind out of him. The image, which Kate was glad she couldn’t see, had to have been created through sheer admiration for her, and she couldn’t find it in her to chastise the poor guy. This was the second major event McGee had been in that would have caused his heart to leap into his throat and his stomach to drop. It was surprising he hadn’t had to run off to the bathroom when they’d returned to the office; Kate certainly wouldn’t blame him if he did.  
“Oh, wow!”  
Only when they realised McGee’s eyes were growing wider and his cheeks were getting redder did Kate push Abby forward to stall his fantasy before it went any further. It was embarrassing enough that she could hardly walk and the rest of it, but now her male colleagues were having disturbing fantasies about her. She didn’t doubt for one second this was a first time occurrence, she knew Tony fantasised fairly regularly as he’d just admitted it to her, but McGee was like her little brother. That was just wrong.  
“Wow what?”  
McGee literally jumped in his chair as Abby burst into his dreams and his fantasy Kate vanished from sight, only to be replaced by a slightly disgruntled Kate standing just behind Abby. How would he ever be able to talk his way out of this one? He couldn’t exactly say ‘Oh, I was just visualising Kate dressed as a dominatrix in leather; complete with iron collar, cop hat and whip. Not to forget the fishnet stockings.’, could he? He’d rather face a pack of ravenous wolves, namely Gibbs, than tell them that.  
“Um, I, um, I-I, um…”  
“McGee, stop ‘ah-umming’ and spit it out.”  
Kate’s tone of voice matched with his previous image of her, lethal and disciplinary, and he had to shake the chills off just to be able to answer them clearly. Even then, he still stuttered and refused to look Kate in the eye knowing she’d see through the subtle lie.  
“I was, uh, thinking about Kate.”  
Abby smiled slightly, admitting she’d been thinking about Kate too, and Kate couldn’t understand when she’d suddenly become the agencies perfect fantasy girl. Hell, if even her best friend was imagining her now, it didn’t speak well for the rest of the people in the building. Abby turned and gave Kate the once over, before smiling secretly to herself and nodding her head. Kate didn’t even want to think about what Abby had her in, knowing her dress sense it could be anything from leather and chains to lace and silk. Anything was possible today it seemed.  
“What is it with everyone fantasizing about seeing me naked, or dressed up in latex today?”  
Kate shook her head trying to find the answer to her own question, following Abby into the lab who was still smiling to herself and leaving McGee to follow behind them. He wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going, far more interested in the vision that had reappeared, and ended up walking directly into Kate, who in turn fell against Abby.   
Turning simultaneously, both bemused by McGee’s lack of attention and the way he was still drawn to whatever he was seeing in that room. Kate smirked and made her way to the chair she’d sat in before, leaving Abby to deal with McGee the best way she knew how; a hard slap up the back of his head.  
“Ow! Abby!”  
“That’s for thinking naughty thoughts, McGee.”  
Walking to her computer and leaving McGee to stand at the door and blush, Abby inputted the data from the bullets she’d just fired and began comparing them to what had been retrieved from the park and her lab. There wasn’t much she could tell Gibbs other than the fact she had two definite possible matches. As much as she was loathe to admit it, Ari was pretty nifty with a gun, and was methodical in his cleanup. But he seemed to be making it too easy for them. The bullets he was using, and the fact Abby was able to narrow down the make of model to just two made her think something hinky was heading their way, and she didn’t like it.   
“Abby…you’ve never imagined me…y’know?”  
“Not naked or anything, but yeah. I got a pretty funky image of you earlier; the Goth look would totally suit you, by the way.”  
“I think I’ll leave that to you, Abbs.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Gibbs gut had never proved him wrong. In all the years he’d been listening to it, his senses had never once let him down, and today, they were proving him right again. Jen had dragged Ziva away to MTAC to contact Mossad’s deputy director, so he dragged DiNozzo off to the elevators. It was really an excuse to get in a really hard head slap for the way he’d been leering over Jen, but it seemed DiNozzo wanted one anyway, if his comment about Ziva not being his type was anything to go by.  
“She’s been in contact. That’s the only way she could know I hung up on him.”  
He waited for DiNozzo’s reaction to his admittance, but received nothing more than a furrowed brow and Tony telling him he didn’t want to make him pissed. He backtracked, saying it was weird when he was being nice, but not that he wasn’t nice and eventually settled for asking the forbidden question. Ultimately, he was questioning Gibbs’ gut, and experience had taught him never to do that, but Tony needed to see this from every angle.  
“What if Ziva’s right and Ari knew you traced the call? Maybe he wasn’t the sniper.”  
“She is right. Ari wanted me to raid that warehouse; he set me up and it almost cost Kate her life.”  
Tony knew when to push it with Gibbs and when to cut the crap and this was one of those times to just keep quiet. It seemed to him that the guilt was eating him up. This was yet another side to Gibbs he’d never seen and one that scared him. Everything could be blamed on Ari; Gibbs just got target fixation and didn’t see the downsides to going after him, that was all starting to come into play now. The fact that Kate would be off duty for however many weeks was really nothing compared to the fact that they’d all been well and truly thoroughly played.   
Since Gibbs had met with Ari at the coffee shop he knew they were playing games with each other, that Ari had accepted his challenge and had almost won it. Perhaps they had been underestimating Ari this whole time, and perhaps he did have the same resources.   
His team were also raising valid points; why didn’t he kill Kate at the farmhouse? Is he a mole or a terrorist? Why go after Kate in the first place? What would it take to kill the bastard? For the moment, Gibbs didn’t care, he was going to do whatever it took the play the game, and to do that he’d need Tony on Ziva’s tail because Gibbs was adamant she had been in contact with Ari and he wanted to know what she knew. If Ziva led Tony to Ari, it was better for them, because then they could ‘question him’. Tony seemed willing to believe that all they were gonna do was tail Ziva, find Ari and bring him in, but knew on a deeper level that they were speaking unrealistically. What he didn’t hear as Gibbs left the elevator, was that he’d be bringing him in to autopsy.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
There was no music, there was no over energetic goth to greet him, there was however a vast quantity of rifles on the table in front of him. He eyed them all, his training telling him their model, make and range. McGee was hovering over his shoulder, Abby was explaining what she’d found and Kate was sound asleep at Abby’s desk.  
He was listening to what Abby was telling him, catching snippets of information, but in the back of his mind Gibbs couldn’t help but play out the scenario in which he finally got to kill Ari. Abby rounded the table, pointing and naming the various weapons laid before them and he interrupted her before she had a chance to continue, and picked up the M3-A1 sniper rifle. The weight was familiar, and it felt good having it in his hands again after so many years, and he couldn’t resist aiming at the wall for old times sake.  
“It looks sweet the way you hold that, Boss.”  
Gibbs kept his attention focused on the weapon in his hands, his eye staring at the white wall opposite him through the scope. If he gave in to his instincts to wallop McGee one over the head, Gibbs feared he wouldn’t stop. He supposed he couldn’t really find fault with him, it was an impressive weapon, but this may have been the one that almost killed Kate.  
“Sweet?”  
Abby knew the tone of voice, and she lowered her head only to watch at McGee’s impending demise through her eyelashes and bangs. Gibbs wasn’t interested in what ‘sweet’ meant, he wanted to know why McGee thought so; why was he so impressed by one of the many weapons that could have potentially ended his friends life.  
“Uh, yeah, it’s a, uh, expression, it means-”  
“Yeah, I know what it means, McGee. You think Ari looked sweet when he took a shot at Kate?”  
“Of course not, Boss.”  
Replacing the rifle back in the stand, Gibbs waited for Abby to jump in like she usually did to break the tension. She was quick when it came to working out the drama between all of them when it happened, and was even quicker to do so now; pointing out the two weapons that, in her opinion, took the lead. Gibbs was set to agree, turning to the monitor to check the test rounds Abby had fired off, and noting that there were more gouging in the rounds Abby had fired than there were in the ones they recovered from the two scenes.  
“He was hand loading and moly-coating.”  
“You are so good.”  
McGee turned to Abby, questioning the terms they were using, and again Gibbs shut them out as he moved to the plasma to focus more on the evidence than what Abby was saying. It didn’t interest him to learn what he already knew, and what he knew was that this was definitely personal.  
“McGee, run a trace on Tango and Bravo 51 sales, last six weeks, tri-state area. Check the Bravo first.”  
McGee practically ran, having already had enough of Gibbs’ anger directed at him, leaving Abby to watch Gibbs with a careful eye. He moved slowly past the door leading into Abby’s office, not wanting to activate the sensors that would open it, and watched Kate sleeping. She’d been taking intermittent naps throughout the day, all the remaining adrenaline finally wearing off, and was surprisingly calm compared to what he’d been expecting from her.  
“Any prints on the brass?”  
It’s not his usual behaviour, Abby knows this and she watches him for a few more minutes before turning back to the computer monitor. She’s worried about how this will really affect them, because she knows at the moment they are all running on coffee and adrenaline mixed with guilt over being unable to protect Kate better and hate for the man that put them all in this position. She herself is running on Caf-Pow and good forensic work which is how she normally operates anyway, but the past few days have seen a lack of caffeine rushes, so now she’s relying on good forensic work and working through the little amount of excessive sugar she still has in her system. When it comes to self-delusion, no team does it better than hers.  
“No. Is your gut telling you something?”  
“Yeah. I need coffee.”  
Brushing her aside like that won’t work, they both know it, but he tries it anyway. He tries to make his escape before she can question what he knows, but she’s quicker than him today, and she knows it must be something big if he’s trying to keep it from her. This may be his way of keeping them all safe, but not once has Gibbs ever shut her out and Abby wants him to know that no matter what he tells her, she’s strong enough to take it.   
“No, Gibbs. Come on. This isn’t just another investigation. Todd is your agent, but Kate is my friend and your wife, so can you stop it with the John Wayne stare and tell me what your gut says.”  
He badly wants to tell her what he knows, that they are being targeted because Gibbs has seriously pissed Ari off. They’re being targeted because Ari wants to get a point across. They’re being targeted because Ari hates him, and by going after the people he cares most about will hurt Gibbs more than shooting another hole in his shoulder would. But he can’t tell her that, because Abby would go into panic mode and her body would shut down. She wouldn’t be able to cope knowing the entire truth, so he settles for asking what he doesn’t believe. She responds with a few suggestions, and she certainly has him pegged; but she hit’s the nail on the head when she mentions coincidences.   
“As a marine sniper, I used hand loaded Lapua.308, boat tail, full metal jacket, moly-coated bullets.”  
“Gibbs…”  
“Know what a sniper calls a Bravo 51?”  
“No.”  
Gibbs pauses, and looks into Abby’s office where Kate is just starting to wake up. He doesn’t know how long she’s been sleeping, but he has a feeling it’s been less than an hour and knows the next time he sees her she’ll be sleeping again.  
“A Kate.”  
And because there’s nothing she can say to that he walks out.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Almost twenty-four hours had passed since everyone, including Ducky, had arrived in the building, which was nothing unusual. What was unusual, was the fact that Ducky had no need to show up for work in the first place, let alone hang around. But he’d stayed for them to perhaps offer advice, or even just a shoulder to cry on.  
Kate had just left, after asking if he could give her knee one more look. She hadn’t had a chance to get it seen to again after Abby’s lab had been shot through and now it was really bothering her again, even with pain relief. Ducky was thankful for the company, having decided to stay downstairs out of the way. It was more so that he didn’t encounter Gibbs, because he knew what kind of mood he was in.  
He remembered the case, the killer and the final victim. He remembered the lengths Gibbs went to make sure he got his man; too far and too focused on his suspect that it cost him his marriage. Ducky certainly hoped that after only one year of wanting this son of a bitch dead, it would happen, and then no one would have to suffer anymore. Specifically Kate. She’d already confided in him once, the previous year before she was kidnapped, the Gibbs had become a terror to live with because he was so focused on catching Ari and she was terrified she was losing him.  
Now that he was alone again, having wished Kate goodnight, Ducky set about clearing up again and putting the ice pack Kate had used back in the freezer for use tomorrow. He’d try to prolong his stay in the building for as long as possible, but in the end he’d resign himself to going home to deal with his mother and her corgis. That was until the phone rang and gave him an excuse to hang around for a few minutes longer.   
At first he didn’t recognise the voice, the tone or accent, but it certainly struck a chord in the deepest recesses of his memory. At first he considered it to be a passing associate, but he couldn’t quite recall a man in his profession who spoke in riddles.  
A man who spoke in riddles rather than naming himself. A man who keeps his identity a secret, knowing that this group of people would eventually work out he was on the phone to their elderly doctor if he were to raise the alarm, and they would put a trace on the call. He has no proof if Dr. Mallard is indeed along, but the man has never once lied to him, so he trusts his word. He knows they all know who he is down to his first word, and why he’s here and what he wants. He also knows, that every single one of them want his head on a silver platter and will each be equally happy to provide his body to the good doctor with whom he his conversing so he will get his wish to weigh his liver. Two of those people, however, want nothing more than to shoot him in the head like the mangy dog he is, and put an end to his life and the games he chose to play with them.  
When Ducky finally gathered his thoughts and got his memory in order, Ari found it quite amusing to be called by his alternate name, especially by a well spoken man such as Donald Mallard. He’d been called countless things over the years, some which were true and others that were not, but he’d never been called a ‘bastard’ so many times before in his life since he encountered these people. First by Caitlin, who seemed incapable of calling him anything else, and then the rest of them followed suit and it became almost a pet name of sorts. Despite it never having been said with loving affection, which he knows Caitlin is capable of, it is a show that they like having him around if he has his own name. Ari never once thought he’d like being called a bastard as much as he did when it came to these people, but more specifically, the sound of it falling from Caitlin’s lips.  
“What do you want?”  
“A professional courtesy. One doctor to another.”  
“Yes, well, I’d be willing to provide a free autopsy.”  
Ari doesn’t doubt what he’s being told and he has reason to believe he’d be alive throughout the entire procedure. He pictures himself chained to a table while Dr. Mallard stands over him with a maniacal grin on his face and a carving knife in hand. When he moves his eyes, he sees the entire team standing round him, each with their own weapon of choice and the same grin on their faces. When he shivers, he hopes Gerald doesn’t notice. It’s one thing to think about the possibilities, it’s another to know that it will happen. He needs to get this conversation back on track, or risk losing his chance.  
“Dr. Mallard, I want to prove that I didn’t attempt to kill Caitlin.”  
He does love the sound of her name when he says it and has tried to say it often enough in her presence and anyone else who cares to listen when he speaks about the dark haired beauty.  
“By taking Gerald hostage?”  
“Gerald is free to go if you listen to my side of this tragedy.”  
“I’m listening.”  
Both are wary of the other but for entirely different reasons. Ducky fears that he will either shoot Gerald again, or perhaps himself if he gets the chance to do so. He’s also worried that what he is told, will affect his judgement and he will have no choice but to accept that Ari wasn’t the shooter. Ari, on the other hand, has already pictured his demise at the hands of NCIS, now he’s just worried that Ducky has said the word and they have been tracing this call and are ready and waiting for him. He isn’t paranoid, much, but he knows when he has to make a getaway.  
“It’s a long story, and I don’t want to have someone trace this call.”  
“Well, no one is here but me.”  
As odd as it seems, Ari finds he trusts the old man’s word and tells him that he is to meet him alone and once he does, Gerald is free to go; Gerald on the other hand has every reason to believe that it’s a trap, and does his best to warn his former mentor. As much as he complained about having to listen to Ducky’s stories, he misses the old man and the team.  
“Learn to trust, Gerald. I may have shot you in the shoulder, but I’ve never lied to you. Doctor?”  
The more Ducky thinks about it, the more he remembers being held hostage by Ari, he knows he is telling the truth. Ari never once lied to them, and was very forthcoming about his own fear of butterflies when they were speaking of Abby’s fear of autopsy. Without a second thought for what he is letting himself in for, Ducky gives Ari his word, and agrees to exchange places with Gerald.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The squadroom had taken on the same appearance as it had the previous night; all the desks were empty and the lights were off aside from the two lone agents who were sat side by side at separate desks, both lost in thought.  
Kate had come back to the squadroom practically rattling with the amount of tablets she’d had pumped into her courtesy of Ducky. She couldn’t actually remember what she’d been given, but knew she felt no pain, and inside the front pocket of her sweatshirt in a small pill box were three tablets, to be taken when the pain got too much, of extra strong painkillers. He rarely gave them out with the exception of extreme cases, and her injuries certainly justified their use. He’d warned her, though, that their strength may make her feel as though she’d be able to carry out the simplest of tasks, but that they were simply masking the pain. Kate wouldn’t use them until absolutely necessary, but was grateful that she had something more than Tylenol. Sitting at her desk, feeling her eyes closing on her, she watched Gibbs at his desk. He was too deep in his thoughts to be disturbed, but she would attempt it anyway.   
“Re-evaluating your convictions? How many times have you told me ‘there’s no such thing as coincidence’?”  
There was no response. It was as bad as when they’d first got back and she’d blown up in his face. She didn’t want that again, and she was too tired to summon the energy to even be angry. The nauseous feeling she’d had was coming back, and it struck her that she hadn’t eaten in quite a while, but even the thought of food was stomach turning. She clearly wasn’t getting through to him verbally, so she’d have to try some other way.  
She got up on her feet, newly decorated and trusty crutch by her side and made her way to Gibbs desk. It seemed, that one of the times she’d been asleep, and while Abby had been bored, she’d taken it upon herself to make the metal stick less clinical and now it was covered in band stickers and home made NCIS decals.   
Nudging Gibbs’ knees until he moved the chair back far enough so she could slip in beside him and sit between two of the six computers. She slid herself back far enough so that she was sitting comfortably, and propped her right foot up on the armrest of the chair when Gibbs turned to face her. He moved her leg and slid his chair closer so that he was between her knees.   
“If you let him get to you this much, then he’s won.”  
To give Kate her credit, she was trying her damnedest to stay positive and keep his spirits up. She didn’t know that simply being there was enough for him. Gibbs had already visualised everything going differently several times already, and he still couldn’t quite understand how he’d ever be able to actually find the words to thank Tony for what he’d done for them. Not just for himself and Kate, but for the entire team; he understood, like Abby, that Kate was something special to all of them. He put his hand on her thigh, as he had done earlier, as a sign of him understanding what she was telling him; he was getting too worked up on this again and needed to take a step back.  
Knowing he was getting too far into her space while they were at work, Gibbs slid away from Kate but left his hand on her thigh to let her know he wasn’t shutting down on her. It seemed he’d chosen the right time, because Jen was walking towards them looking serious. If she said anything, they could pass it off as teammate support and nothing else because they still didn’t want her to know just yet.  
“Jethro. I know it’s been a difficult day, for all of us.”  
Realising where Kate was sitting and the position of Gibbs’ hand, Jen knew she’d been right when she thought they were married, but refrained from saying anything. It wasn’t any of her business if they had decided to break the rules Gibbs had established for himself, but really did hope that they didn’t divorce; he needed happiness in his life and it seemed Kate had been good for him.  
“That’s what my DI used to say. Never believed him.”  
Gibbs felt his hand been squeezed, and squeezed Kate’s thigh in response. They both looked to Jen, knowing their secret was out, but she didn’t seem all that offended at having not been told. Jen smiled back, and turned to leave the building till Gibbs called her back.  
“You going to dinner with CBS?”  
“I am.”  
“Don’t do that interview. Please.”  
Kate bit back a gasp, but felt her eyes widen. She’d only ever heard him say please once, and that was so he could gain access aboard Air Force One with her. He rarely said it these days, but he was trying and that was the main thing. Turning slightly to look at Jen, it seemed she had the same expression on her face and Kate wondered if Gibbs had ever pleaded with her before to get her to do something for him. It wasn’t exactly easy to say no to the man when he turned on the charm.  
Jen looked Gibbs over, wondering why the hell he kept pushing this. He’d told her he figured Ari was going after the people in his life, women first but that didn’t seem enough of a reason. She’d known him for long enough to know that he never said thank you, frowned upon saying sorry and rarely said please unless it was something that was really important to him. She watched Kate tighten her grip on his hand and that cemented her decision.  
“I’ll see if I can delay it a few days.”  
“Good.”  
“Good night Jethro, Kate.”  
“Night.”  
Jen turned away from the couple, leaving them to discuss whatever it was they had been before she’d interrupted. She didn’t have to wait long for the elevator to arrive, and was ready to go home and pour herself a large drink to get over the day from hell. It had certainly surpassed expectations. When the doors opened, she was pleased to see that she wouldn’t be travelling down alone.  
“Ducky! How nice to see you again!”  
“And you. Congratulations.”  
Jen hadn’t seen Ducky for quite some time, and she was surprised to see that he hadn’t changed one bit. She was sure that he’d be telling the team all about their escapades in later days when she was more settled, and she couldn’t wait to see their faces upon hearing just a handful of the things they’d gotten up to.  
“Going home?”  
“Uh, yeah.”  
With Tony out tailing Ziva and McGee down in Abby’s, Gibbs was ready to take Kate home so she could at least get a shower and something to eat, and maybe get a good night’s sleep. For some reason, his gut had started working again after several hours of being dormant and he couldn’t for the life of him work it out. Abby was protected, Tony was capable of defending himself, he was with Kate and Jen had an escort home. He could hear parts of Jen’s conversation floating over from the open elevator doors and that’s when it hit him.  
“Ducky.”  
Without giving Kate an explanation, he was out his chair and running towards the elevator which was now descending to the ground floor. He should’ve realised earlier that if Ari couldn’t get to the women in his life, he’d go after the one person who he trusted with his life and knew him better than anyone. Why didn’t he think of this? How the hell could he have been so blind?  
“Jethro?”  
He turned back to face Kate, and he could see the worry in her eyes for him just as she could see the anger in his at Ari. Without a word spoken, she could understand his silent declaration that if one hair on that man’s head was out of place, Ari would have to face more than having hell to pay.


	18. Revenge Is A Seven Lettered Phrase: Kill Ari Part 2

Revenge Is A Seven Lettered Phrase: Kill Ari  
So go on and scream  
Scream at me, I’m so far away  
I won’t be broken again  
I’ve got to breathe, I can’t keep going under

The tranquil scene in the squadroom had been replaced by chaos in the time it took Jethro Gibbs to run from the elevator back to his desk. He’d called Abby and ordered both her and McGee back upstairs, making them worry because this was Gibbs and he never gave them enough details. Kate took everything in, viewing with an outsiders eye because she was just too numb to understand what exactly was happening to them.  
She was aware that Abby was frantically dialling Ducky’s number, while Gibbs stood over her shoulder and McGee typed away at the computer to trace his cell and find out where he was. She could have pointed out to them that he was probably on his way home, but she kept her mouth shut; it was that feeling of emptiness that stopped her doing anything. It was the thought that she could have ended all this long before it started that had her doubting her worth as an agent.  
When Abby eventually got through to Ducky, though it was his voicemail, she took the tactful approach, telling him they were worried and that he should call and then Gibbs jumped in, his typical bear with a sore head attitude thrown out the window and yelled down the phone line.  
“I said no one was to leave the building! No one includes you, Doctor Mallard!”  
“We’re worried including Gibbs…”  
Gibbs terminated the call before Abby had a chance to complete her sentence, leaving her to complete it with “or he wouldn’t be yelling” to a room that wasn’t entirely listening to her. Kate had been battling with herself throughout the entire call, with whether or not she should add her two cents to the conversation. If she did, Gibbs could turn his anger on her, knowing full well she wouldn’t take it and would probably blow up in his face again, but she took the chance anyway.  
“Look Gibbs, it’s not Ducky’s fault, okay? He probably finished up in autopsy on auto pilot and then just drove himself home the same way.”  
Gibbs was about to say something, most likely laced with anger, when McGee cut in with some new information; twenty three minutes earlier, a call had come into autopsy and that he was in the process of tracing the number. It seemed he typed faster than he ever had in his life to get the number of the person who had called him, and was possibly the reason Ducky had left so abruptly.  
When Gibbs started pacing back and forth between the desks, his impatience growing, Kate reached out to him and asked for help getting her sling back on. Doing something instead of waiting would make him focus on what he had to do, get his priorities in order and by the time he’d worked everything out and got Kate back into her sling, he wouldn’t have to wait. At least, that’s what Kate hoped would happen; she may have been married to the man, but she still had a hard time reading him, especially in moments like this.  
“Boss, that call came from Gerald Jackson’s cell phone!”  
Gerald Jackson had been Ducky’s right hand man for almost three years, having joined the agency a few months prior to Tony. He was one of the few who could tolerate Ducky’s anecdotes and understood Abby’s eccentric ways. He’d been happy with his job, and the people he worked with; even if their methods, techniques and behaviour were occasionally questionable. It all changed one evening in March, one that everyone remembered. Kate and Gibbs because they finally admitted the truth to each other; Tony because Gibbs considered him his right hand man and someone he trusted. Abby because if it hadn’t been for her fear, she would’ve been in Kate’s place going through everything she did instead of helping to get them out. Ducky remembered having to do emergency repairs on his assistant.  
Since that night, Gerald had to take time out for surgery to fix the nerve damage caused by a nine mil bullet being shot into his shoulder at point blank range. The surgery and several blood transfusions was followed by weeks spent in a hospital bed to recover from being shot, from surgery and a minor infection that added an extra week of time to his stay at Bethesda, getting pumped full of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. The final step was physiotherapy to get full motility back in his shoulder. His nurse, Collette, was sweet and she pushed him as far as his limits would allow; he’d been seeing her for nearly a year now. He was almost fully healed and had average movement, but when the weather was rough outside, he tended to seize up.   
Ducky had been the most regular visitor during his stay in hospital, keeping him updated on the team, bemoaning the loss of such a promising agent Chris Pacci, and further bemoaning the lack of decent assistants that were being sent his way, quickly pointing out none were as competent as Gerald himself. Kate had visited once or twice, accompanied by Abby or Tony and Gibbs had visited a few times along with Ducky to see if he could remember anything about the night he was shot. Once Gerald had finally been released from hospital and back in his own apartment, the visits became less frequent as the cases began rolling in, although Abby kept a weekly diary of everything that happened in his time out and sent it to him via email, but even that stopped. Gerald began to feel that everyone had forgotten about him, but clearly one person kept him in mind.  
What they couldn’t understand was why Gerald was calling Ducky in the first place, let alone at this time of night. The phone call was only a few minutes long and Abby was the only person who could cover every piece of vital information in that length of time.  
“Maybe he heard about what happened on the roof and he called Ducky.”  
“They’re in a pub somewhere, reliving the old days.”  
“Yes!”  
Gibbs didn’t like it, but he didn’t like a lot of things where his agents were concerned, especially when there was a madman hell bent on destroying their lives on the loose. McGee and Abby’s theory, while it was certainly plausible, it wasn’t very likely. Not a lot of people knew of what had happened in the past few days other than agents and Kate’s family. It was possible there were rumours floating around, but in the time Gibbs had known Gerald, he didn’t seem to be the type to listen to scuttlebutt.  
“Call Gerald.”  
McGee picked up his handset and dialled the number that was on the screen. He heard it ring for a few times before it went to voicemail. He hung up and redialled and the same happened again. Abby was pacing back and forth, stating that they probably couldn’t hear their phones because they were in a pub.  
“I’m getting voicemail. Do you want to leave a message?”  
“No. Get a GPS fix.”  
McGee hung up and got back to typing, faster than he had been so Gibbs didn’t get anymore angry than he was. Kate shared a look with Abby as Gibbs hovered over McGee, making sure he was doing things fast enough for him. Both women knew when to back off and leave Gibbs to it, but even this was new to them. They could understand why he was angry, Ducky had just gone while there was a mad terrorist on the loose, but Ari was going after the women in Gibbs’ life, there was no real reason that they understood for him go after Ducky.  
In between the sidetracking and the reasoning, McGee managed to locate the location of Gerald’s cell phone, placing him on a residential street in Georgetown and quickly followed it up by finding Ducky’s cell in the same location. Abby was ready to say that they were in a pub together, but Gibbs cut her off before she got started. Heading to his desk, Gibbs noticed the look that Kate gave and he tried his best to keep his face as calm as possible, but she seen right through it. Holstering his weapon, he gave her a reassuring look before beginning to head for the elevators.  
“Want me to go with you, Boss?”  
“No. Tony’s out. Stay here with Kate and Abby, don’t let them out of your sight.”  
Kate turned as much as she could so she could track his movement, much like she had done last year after their impromptu coffee meeting and tried to read him. She couldn’t get it out her head, that for someone who was so set about his rules being followed to the letter, he sure was one for breaking them. Kate smiled to herself, because for nobody leaving the building, there were a lot of people leaving the building, including the man who told them not to in the first place.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Roughly fifteen minutes after pulling out of the parking lot at the NCIS building, Gibbs found himself screeching down the dark deserted street of Olive and twenty-ninth, looking for Ducky’s Morgan. The rain, which had stopped, had come back on late in the afternoon and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The second he stepped out the car, Gibbs was drenched; looking up and down the street, there were no lights, no cars and no people. If Ari had still been on the street, he would’ve made his presence known by now, or at least have tried to kill him already.  
He’d been on the phone with McGee the entire journey, being told exactly where Ducky and Gerald were on the street, but now that he was there the call seemed rather redundant. He thought they might have moved on, gone back to their respective homes but McGee told him they were still on the street. When McGee got a fix on his phone, Gibbs was standing right there with them but there was still no one in sight. McGee was beginning to sound almost desperate, it was in his voice when he told Gibbs they had to be there and then Abby came on the line asking about pubs. Really, he was two seconds away from throwing his phone to the ground, but chose instead to vent his frustration by yelling at his favourite forensic scientist and listen as she walked away from the handset on McGee’s desk. He felt bad for getting angry at her, it wasn’t Abby’s fault Ducky had decided to go AWOL and get them all worried.  
“How accurate is this fix, McGee?”  
“Within twenty-five meters.”  
Gibbs hung up and grabbed the flashlight from the car, hoping it would catch something his fading eyesight couldn’t. From where he parked, he headed in a straight line across the road to where the bushes lined the street between the road and the park. He scanned the ground meticulously for any sign that Ducky or Ari had been there, and it came in the form of a bullet hole in a discarded can of beer.  
Then his conscience raised her head again.  
“It’s going to happen again, isn’t it? Ducky’s going to take a bullet for you.”  
He’d thought he’d gotten rid of her after he’d sought Kate out in autopsy. He thought that Nightmare Kate had gone once he’d comforted Kate. Clearly he was wrong. What he didn’t understand about his conscience, was that it came in the form of his wife, if anything he thought it would be a rather more talkative version of Ducky, or even his father. But Kate, and a dead Kate at that? Even though he couldn’t see her this time, he knew she was there, nipping at his head and making him feel more guilty than he was. He also knew that it would be the same image as before which made him all the more determined not to seek her out.  
“He won’t kill Ducky.”  
He certainly seemed sure of this, but could he be sure if he ventured farther into the park he wouldn’t come across the bullet ridden corpses of Ducky and his former assistant? His conscience picked up on this, and he couldn’t help but listen to what was being said because for all the uncertainties he was facing, it seemed like the only answer.  
“Why not? Because you couldn’t live with the guilt? Maybe Ari knows that. Maybe that’s his plan. Maybe the only way to save Ducky, Abby, and McGee…is to kill yourself.”   
His mind flashbacked several years to the day he got word of Shannon and Kelly; to visiting their graves, and then later to sitting with his gun in his hands and the contemplation he had of putting the barrel in his mouth and pulling the trigger. Only he knew of this minor incident, not even Ducky or Kate. He flashed forward to standing in his bathroom with Kate and listening to her explain why they should both just end their lives then and there, instead of waiting for Ari to do it for them. Once more he remembered, this time it was to meeting Ari at the coffee shop. Ari telling him that in order for his job to be done, Gibbs had to die and then asking what Gibbs would do if he had the same problem. He’d responded without a second thought, that he’d kill himself.  
He certainly had the option to do it, he had the weapon and he had the perfect scapegoat. Gibbs had investigated enough suicides to know how to make it look like murder, and even if it was discovered to have been self inflicted, Ducky would put murder in the cause of death section on his death certificate. His team would be struck with guilt and they would grieve, but only once they’d tracked down his killer. Only after they’d got Ari for inflicting more pain on them. Ari would defend himself, swear he had nothing to do with it; if he had, why use Gibbs’ own weapon? Why not use a sniper rifle like he had done at the warehouse?  
It was a stupid idea, and if Kate ever found out he’d considered it more than once she’d shoot him herself. Ignoring the guilt and his Kate shaped conscience, who had vanished again, Gibbs pulled his phone from his pocket and called Ducky’s number. He heard it ring twice on his end before he heard the tinny, polyphonic tune of “Scotland the Brave” from somewhere down the tree line. He followed the sound until he found the phone, which by now had stopped ringing since he’d hung up, and presumed the phone next to it belonged to Gerald. It came of little relief to find their phones and not their bodies like he’d thought, but it still meant that Ari was somewhere with Ducky and Gerald.  
Giving the park one last look, Gibbs pocketed the phones he found before pulling out his own and calling the office to give them an update. Hopefully, Abby would have gotten over the idea that they were together in a pub somewhere and that her Caf-Pow high had plummeted.  
“Special Agent McGee.”  
“I found Ducky and Gerald’s cell phone in the park.”  
“Why would they leave their cell phones in the park?”  
If it weren’t for the fact Gibbs was no where near him at the moment, McGee would have received a very hard head slap for asking such a stupid question. It wasn’t the first time he regretted adding Tim to his team, but he brought something that no one else had and pushed the thought aside.  
“Do you want me to come down there?”  
“If I wanted you to come down here, I would have told you so. Put a BOLO out on Ducky’s Morgan. Get his license plate from his file.”   
The only sound was McGee typing away on the keyboard, before Abby came on the line stating the facts that they already knew, but said it in a certain way because she knew the damage Ari was capable of. He could picture her, ringing her hands or fidgeting with her pigtails. Kate would be rubbing her back and telling her they’d be fine and that Ari wouldn’t harm Ducky if he knew what was good for him. If he was there with them, he’d pull his girls into his arms and promise them both, again, that he’d fix it.  
“They’re not dead, Abs.”  
“How do you know?”  
“Because Ari dumped their cell phones in the park, not their bodies.”  
There was silence again and Gibbs figured it was because they were letting his statement sink in until he heard a collective intake of breath and then McGee, sounding unsure of what he was seeing in front of him, telling Gibbs that Gerald was standing in the office.  
“Ari’s got Doctor Mallard.”  
“How’d you get away?!”  
“I didn’t. Ari let me go.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
McGee and Abby were sat on the edge of their seats, listening to Gerald as he told them what had happened when he left the chemist and everything that followed Ducky arriving. Kate had given up halfway through the story, one of the many lots of medication kicking in, and had fallen asleep in Gibbs chair. Abby would look over periodically, just to make sure Kate was as asleep as she seemed; she’d hate for her friend to be listening to what was being said, all the while knowing that there was nothing she could do to get Ducky back. She also wondered why Kate wasn’t in as much pain as she had been, and how she was able to sleep so easily with everything that was going on. If it was her, she’d not close her eyes for fear of nightmares, but Kate had no trouble.  
When Gibbs came off the elevator, phone to his ear and arguing with whomever was on the other end, probably Fornell or Tony, everyone was silenced and waited to find out what Gibbs was going to do. At first he didn’t pay attention to them, focusing both on his phone and the sleeping brunette at his desk. He’d give anything to get her out of there and into her own bed, even just for a few hours, but knew that was out of the question as long as Ari was still on the streets.  
There wasn’t much to tell Gibbs, other than Ari picked up Gerald to force Ducky into a meet, for what reason he wasn’t sure. He’d warned the man not to come, cause he felt certain Ari would kill him on sight, but Ducky made the decision to go as Gibbs told him. Gibbs hadn’t been in the building more than ten minutes before he was making his way back to the elevator to meet Tony at the Embasero hotel to find out what he got on Ziva. Kate would be fine where she was for now, and he didn’t leave any orders with McGee to watch her because he figured the younger agent would know by now. Abby ran after him, talking about garbled cellphone conversations and grabbing his attention by using phonetics, like he’d asked.  
“Golf-India-bravo-bravo-Sierra? Can I please go back to my lab? I’m flipping out up here with nothing to do.”  
In the way Kate needed touch to reaffirm she was alive, Abby needed to work. She would hype herself up on Caf-Pow and proceed to test evidence or track car tyres. In extreme cases, when there were bullets involved like now, she’d lock herself away in ballistics and fire off more than the necessary rounds she needed to compare for exclusion purposes or to match. Her lab was her safe haven, and despite having had it shot through earlier, she was more than happy to return to it.  
This was just one more problem Gibbs didn’t need added to his plate. He had an injured and emotionally spent wife with whom he hadn‘t had a chance to spend any amount of quality time with to find out how she really was, instead of believing the facade; one of his best agents out in the field, tailing a woman he knew nothing about, but enough to know that she was dangerous and needed to be watched carefully; he had the new director wanting him to ignore everything he knew to be true; and now he had his favourite forensic scientist wanting to go back downstairs, alone, all the while risking another possible sniper attack.  
God, would he kill for a day of normalcy.  
“Okay, but don’t leave…”  
“Don’t leave the building, I know.”  
By the time the conversation was over, the elevator doors were closing, and Abby was standing on the other side giving him a goodbye wave and telling him “bye” in phonetics.  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
Standing under the awning at the Embasero hotel, Tony could do nothing but watch the rain fall hard on the dark road. He had time to think things through here, without the distraction of Ziva David in her swim suit or her scantily clad friend. What kind of idiot was he; part of a nudist colony, that was the best he could come up with? He was slipping. A couple of years ago he had no problem in coming up with a cover story; calling himself Stringfellow, having an imaginary dog when he was on the run as a convict knowing that Gibbs and Kate weren’t far behind him. A couple of years ago, he didn’t have the near death of one of his closest friends lingering over him.   
He’d had some kind of psychobabble moment earlier, when he was watching Ziva in the pool. He knew it wasn’t real, because Kate was currently tucked away from the world at the office, and she certainly wasn’t wearing that. Her catholic school uniform. He’d nearly died when he seen her reflection in the window, and honestly thought he’d somehow died in the time he’d left the office. He’d tried ignoring her, but it was just like Kate to pick at him and make him pay attention to her. At times when she was having petty arguments with him, he could see her at five years old with a pouting lip because she wasn’t getting her way or the attention she felt she deserved; and then he could see her daughter. She’d be the spitting image of her mother, and have that pout when things didn’t go her way.  
Eventually, he’d paid attention to her, and standing in the doorway now he couldn’t help but smile as the memory of his imagined conversation with Kate, in that damn uniform. He knew it had been a figment of his imagination, likely brought on by stress. To anyone passing him in the hall, they would’ve thought he was crazy, talking to himself about the kind of woman that does or doesn’t intimidate Anthony DiNozzo, and how divorce attorney’s were worse than mothers when it came to intimidation.  
The problem Tony had when it came to psychoanalysing, was that it never worked with him. Sure, he could run through a mental list of his problems and work out what was wrong with or bothering him, but when it came to actually defining the feelings that went along with that, he couldn’t do it. Doing it to other people was far easier, because it meant he didn’t have to confront his personal demons until he was alone and had time to actually think about them. Like now.  
He looked upon it as keeping his mind clear and focused on the task at hand. Thinking about something else made the important details of what he’d learned sharper and more memorable. If he was going to be serious about analysing his life and figuring out how the hell he’d ended up where he was, he’d have to go back several years. Ideally, he’d like to blame his father for the way he’d turned out, but not all of it was down to DiNozzo senior. His mother had played her part, creating several scarring memories on his life; like the recurring vampire nightmare. Still, she’d dressed him up in a sailor suit and he ended up investigating naval crimes so she wasn’t all bad.  
His father on the other hand. Tony figured with everything he had put up with through childhood and even part of his adult life, he’d be a psychologists dream subject. He could talk about his father until he was blue in the face and still not have a clearer image as to why he was put through the things he was, and witnessed what he did.  
Fortunately, Gibbs called and saved him the hardship of psycho babbling himself to death; it was surprising how he used to think Gibbs timing always came at the worst possible moment and was now thankful for it.  
The information Tony had discovered was just one of the best things that had happened since Ari entered their world; it further convinced Gibbs that Ziva was in communication with Ari and that she knew where he was. The fact she was planning his escape meant she had no intention of waiting around for the investigation to conclude or have herself proven right of her belief Ari was innocent. The way in which Tony had learned about the fake passport Ziva had passed to her friend was of no concern to Gibbs; he’d sent his senior field agent, who was always thinking about woman, on the tail of someone he’d describe as being pretty. It stood to reason that with Tony’s inability to ignore anything female, especially a pretty female, he wouldn’t lose Ziva in a crowd.  
He was partially correct.  
He regretted asking for a description of the woman Ziva had been with, as this prompted Tony to give a detailed account of her. Tony’s best ability was being able to make accurate measurements after even a passing glance at a person. He’d heard through Ducky that he’d shown off those skills when they had first met Kate, and measured a swimsuit model on the cover of a magazine. Kate’s comment about measuring swimsuit models made much more sense after that. According to his senior field agent, the girl, as he described her, looked enough like Ziva to be her sister, and was real pretty.  
“Maybe she is. Mossad’s like the Mafia. One big happy family.”  
Ziva’s family history was of no concern to Gibbs either. Whether the pretty girl in the white tracksuit was Ziva’s sister or not didn’t matter. What did matter was that she had Ari’s escape plan in her pocket courtesy of Ziva. Another phone call to McGee, and another brief want of slapping the boy for his thoughtlessness, Gibbs had had enough. The pizza he’d hijacked from the nightshift, to make up for Tony being on his feet for several hours and not getting a break, was being devoured quickly beside him. There were two things Gibbs could rely on Tony for; his occasional brainwaves and his insatiable Italian appetite.  
They sat in the car, which remained quite other than for when Gibbs placed a call to McGee, giving him the information of Ari’s fake passport. Gibbs, if he was anyone other than who he was, would thank Tony for what he’d done both on the rooftop and everything since; he didn’t have to do any of that for Kate. Or for him. If he could just find it in him to tear down the gruff façade he’d built over the years, and thank his friend for saving his wife, then he would and God knows he wanted to. He just didn’t know how it would be received, though. It wasn’t every day your hard ass Marine boss turned to you and said ‘thanks’ and Gibbs was pretty sure he’d send Tony to an early grave if he ever did say it seriously and mean it. He was about to say it, the words were ready on his tongue and halfway to being spoken when Tony looked out the window and spotted the girl that had been with Ziva at the pool.   
Tony had seen, out the corner of his eye, that Gibbs was struggling with something and that it probably related to him. It was the same look Kate had on her face just before she thanked him, and he’d found it hard to accept then from her, so he had no idea how to accept it from his boss. He knew how Gibbs operated; after working with the man for three and a half years it’d be hard not to. He had his rules, and he probably had his mantras. There were four things he never said, one of which he believed to be a weakness. The three others had their various reasons attached but Tony had a fair idea as to why; he didn’t like begging, he didn’t like people knowing he was grateful to them, and he had a hard time being grateful in return.   
If Tony ever said ‘thank you’ after Gibbs saving his life, he’d get a snappy comment in return and the entire conversation would be forgotten. If Gibbs ever said ‘thank you’ to him, which he was trying to do now despite thinking that the thanks should be assumed, the conversation would never be forgotten. If he was a spiteful man which despite all appearances he wasn’t, Tony would probably have it broadcasted on ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’.   
“Boss, that’s her.”  
“Stay with Ziva.”  
“What if this girl’s meeting Ari? I mean, you’re going to need backup. Let me rephrase that.”  
“Out!”  
Tony closed his pizza box and was out the car in a shot, standing on the sidewalk waiting until Gibbs had driven off after the yellow Congress Cab before returning to the doorway of the hotel. He figured if it weren’t for his expensive shoes, he’d have been asked to move along by the staff. Knowing that the almost conversation between him and Gibbs remained almost, made doing what he was doing easier because his boss wasn’t struggling to tell him something he already knew.   
*~*~*~*~*~*  
It was a scenario from an action movie, and all Gibbs could do was curse DiNozzo upside down for relating every case to a film. And quoting them and coming up with his own harebrained scenarios. If he ever heard, ’this reminds me of a movie’ ever again, he’d slap him silly.   
He’d stayed a safe distance behind the cab, letting one car in between them to keep himself covered, but never letting it out of his sight. This was the moment he’d been waiting for and now he had it, Gibbs wasn’t going to let it slip out of his reach.  
They continued on for four, maybe five streets and by now they were the only two cars on the road in a quiet residential area. If the girl in the cab had any idea that she was being followed, she never let on. If she did know, then she would tell the driver to stop or to change directions, where to make a turn to throw him off the scent.   
He was so close to reaching his goal, to coming face to face with Ari that he could taste the revenge in his mouth. The distance between his car and the cab was now equal to that of two cars, because Gibbs didn’t want to take a chance with this and have her realise she was being followed and lead them somewhere else. Ari probably had her well trained for events like this and she’d be able to lose him easily.  
The vintage Morgan driving in the opposite direction down the street was what pulled his attention from the cab in front. It was Ducky’s and the last he knew, Ducky was with Ari. In a moment of fight or flight, Gibbs swerved in the middle of the road and hit the brakes hard and got out with his gun in hand, while the Morgan pulled to a calm stop just a hair’s breadth from the side of the dodge. The echo of screeching tyres could still be heard on the now almost empty street, but with the following echo of Gibbs shouting Ari’s name while keeping his gun trained on the drivers side of the Morgan. When the door opened and the driver began to get out, Gibbs readied his weapon for the kill.  
“Good grief, Jethro. Put that weapon down. I’ve had enough excitement for tonight. Ari abducts me, Gerald strips my gears and now you play chicken on a wet street.”  
Gibbs complied and lowered his weapon, asking of Ari’s whereabouts. Ducky told him that they had parked down the street, and then Ari had received a phone call which apparently told him all he needed to know, before telling Ducky to drive down the road for ten minutes and exiting the vehicle; the damn bastard played the once again. Of course Ari knew Gibbs was coming, because it seemed Ari knew everything where his team was concerned. As Gibbs pulled out his cell to call McGee again, he wondered if the poor boy was sick and tired of his desk phone ringing off the hook yet, especially when he was rarely allowed a word in edgewise.  
“McGee! Congress Cab number seventeen picked up a female fare at the Embasero Hotel ten minutes ago. If he’s en route, I need his twenty. If he’s dropped of his fare, then get me an address. And take the BOLO off Ducky’s Morgan. He’s safe.”  
He hung up without waiting for a response and half listened as Ducky stated their paths hadn’t crossed by accident. It was almost similar to last year when Kate had been taken; both hostages had been freed without serious harm brought to them, although Gibbs debated that point when he remembered Kate’s bruised arms and split lip, not to mention the surprising lack of nightmares he was sure would plague her. There had been a diversion in place to throw them off the scent; one came in the form of a blonde female for Tony to chase and the other came in the form of Ducky. Logically, Gibbs should have known it was a setup from the beginning, because Ari’s modus operandi was setting people up; Ducky had been taken to get Gibbs off the tail of Ziva’s possible sister.  
“What’d you talk about?”  
“Well, my Morgan for a while. He was surprisingly knowledgeable. Then Edinburgh Medical School. Yeah, we were both alumni, a few decades apart…”  
“Anything important, Ducky?”  
Gibbs, who had been pacing the road in front of Ducky, stopped what he was doing and stood still. Both men looked at each other, Gibbs trying to find the truth in Ducky’s eyes despite knowing the man never would and probably couldn’t lie to him in the first place. Ducky was looking for a way to tell Gibbs, the man who was like a son to him, that he partially believed what Ari had told him that night. He knew he shouldn’t listen to a word of what he’d been told, but it was hard when it was laid out the way Ari had described.  
“He swore he didn’t shoot at Caitlin. Made a very logical and passionate defense.”  
“You believe him?”  
“He was very persuasive. Said he knows you’ll never believe him and that it’s a shame that one of you has to die. He’s arrogantly confident that it won’t be him; but on the off chance that it is, to keep looking for Caitlin’s attempted killer.”  
“He’s a slick bastard, Duck. But he’s right. One of us is going to die.”  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
The sight Kate had woken to was both depressing and calming at the same time. It seemed these days, specifically this week, there were only a handful of places she felt completely calm and safe in, and work was one of them. Truth be told, she was depressed over the fact she was spending yet another night at work, when she could be at home, curled up with a glass of wine and a good book, or out at some bar with her friends.  
Her social life had certainly gone out the window once she joined NCIS, but she wasn’t exactly a social pariah; she still had her friends outside of work who, schedules permitting, she managed to spend the odd night with. On one of those rare occasions, Gibbs had even joined her and wowed her friends.  
Originally, she had planned to go out tonight, but with someone trying to kill her a couple of days ago she’d had to cancel that little rendezvous in favor of being the unsociable workaholic who slept at her desk under a mountain of paperwork. Even if Ari had been killed days ago, she still wouldn’t have been able to enjoy herself, what with the fact she was half crippled and rattling with painkillers. She would certainly put a dampener on the evening.  
Her head was fuzzy and none of her thoughts were entirely clear yet, so Kate waited until she could actually form a coherent thought before seeing who was about that may offer her some form of conversation. The fuzziness was a residual effect of the medication she was on; an effect which she hadn’t been informed of. The only thing she knew was that it killed her pain and knocked her out for a few good hours, so she wasn‘t entirely concerned for the fact everything in her mind was dulled; it was better than thinking about the reasons she was doped up in the first place.  
Unlike the last time she had woken in the very same chair, there were no sounds of an office coming to life. She was met with stony silence in every direction she looked, if she didn’t count the rain that was battering against the glass panes of the windows and skylight, and a haunting depiction of how her life was set to play for however long it took for them to take down Ari. The silence was broken by the printer next to McGee’s desk starting up, and Kate turned her attention away from the water streaked windows to the desk opposite.   
He’d been so silent she hadn’t even realised he was actually there. The last thing she remembered was Gerald coming back before she passed out in Gibbs’ seat; she automatically assumed with no Abby around, McGee had followed her back downstairs. Gibbs would be disappointed if he knew she was assuming things. She watched him covertly, under the guise of being asleep, as he went about his work on autopilot. Removing the document from the tray, scanning it quickly one last time before moving to the filing cabinet between his and Tony’s desks where it would be stored in one of their many files. The poor boy looked almost depressed. It was true that none of them much liked the paperwork that came along with their jobs, but McGee was always so eager to do something that would lead to him being a better field agent, even if it meant writers cramp and repetitive strain injury; she knew the look on his face was caused by a deeper reason than having been left behind on a case.  
Everyone had been so focused on her health and safety, it seemed they hadn’t taken the time to check in with each other. She had seen with her own eyes how out of sorts Gibbs was; Abby was acting like her normal self, but Kate could see it was just a cover. Abby was good at putting aside how she felt when it came to her work. Ducky was behaving relatively normal, even if he had been quieter the past few days.  
And Tony had hugged her. A man she fought with on a daily basis and loved with all her heart hugged her against his body in a gesture that comforted both of them. He’d barely left her side all day, mostly due to what she suspected was a silent threat from Gibbs, and had waited on her hand and foot despite not needing to, and even went as far as massaging her leg when she got cramp in her calf. It was extremely out of character for him, but right now she wouldn’t have him any other way. It settled her somehow.  
Kate wasn’t usually so self-centred. She knew at times she displayed narcissistic qualities but it was human nature; everyone had that one small flaw that caused them at times to focus solely on themselves instead of others around them and Kate’s was just coming out to play now. It was time she made amends for her attitude, and she was going to start with her fellow agent who looked like he may cry at any moment.  
“Why haven’t you asked how I am yet?”  
So much for not being selfish, she thought. She convinced herself it was just an icebreaker, just to get the conversation going and it worked a little too well.  
McGee turned slowly from the filing cabinet to face the source of the voice, feeling his heart beating so fast in his chest he thought it might explode; after working in silence for an unknown amount of hours, her voice had been the last thing he’d expected to hear, let alone with an accusing lilt to it. His thoughts were crossing in his mind and he couldn’t keep track of them; one minute he was crouching down behind the car taking fire and the next he was seeing Kate’s body in the open drawer, talking to him like nothing happened, but having the obvious effects of being dead. The white sheet that covered her from the chest down, the empty eyes, lack of skin colour. Not to mention the bullet hole in her head. It was a dark comparison to his earlier visual, one that he wasn’t quite a stranger to. He realised a little belatedly, that he was likely suffering from post traumatic stress. He suspected they all were, and that they would each have their own shock induced hallucination, probably even Kate herself.  
When he eventually worked up the courage to actually look at her, the first thing he did was look at her eyes just to make sure she was real, and not another figment of his highly over active imagination. There was so much energy and life in those eyes, even if they were clouded from her medication, that he wanted to drop everything and hold her, just to be doubly sure. He wanted to feel her heart beat and hear her breathing and just thank God that she was still with them.  
Kate smiled slightly as she watched McGee struggling to find the appropriate words to say to her. Both knew there wasn’t anything he could say that hadn’t already been said, but at least he was trying.  
“You don’t really have to say anything, you know. I was just breaking the silence.”  
“And if I want to ask?”  
“Nothing stopping you. But I can tell you, honestly, that I’m fine. I just really want a bubble bath and my bed.”  
“And what about food; have you eaten anything recently?”  
“I’ve not really been hungry. My last meal was that Chinese the other night.”  
Kate fell silent as she realised what she’d just said. She knew how close she’d come to those words being true and the very thought turned her stomach. She could prevent her thoughts from wandering, playing events on the rooftop out differently, fast-forwarding through everyone’s grief, her funeral. She briefly wondered if she had died, how long it would be before Gibbs joined her, but that was a thought she didn’t spend much time on; he wasn’t a man who’d resort to suicide.  
She came back from wherever her thoughts had taken her, when a chocolate chip muffin and can of soda were placed in front of her. Looking up, she realised that not only were people getting really good at invading her personal space when she was unaware, something which she needed to regain control of quickly; but also that McGee was looking at her in a way that said he knew she was far from being fine, but wasn’t going to say anything to contradict her.  
“Don’t tell Tony. If he knew I kept a supply of cakes in my desk, he’d clear me out.”  
“Every good hacker needs a sugar source. Your secret’s safe, as long as I can tap into some time.”  
“Any time.”  
“I’ll hold you to that, Tim.”  
McGee knew Kate wasn’t actually going to eat his offering, if the way she was picking out the chocolate chips was any indication, but it was the thought that counted. He recalled bringing her food the last time they spoke of her encounters with Ari, and he decided it was time to be her shoulder again.  
Wordlessly, he went back to his desk, placing down the document he’d forgotten he had and pulled out his chair, rolling it over to sit opposite Kate. It was the strangest case of déjà vu he’d ever experienced, but they both needed soundboards, and he was willing to be hers if she let him.  
Their last conversation of this magnitude had been easier to navigate, since Kate brought the subject up first and he simply followed her lead. At the time, he’d had no prior involvement with Ari, other than finding out who he was, but now he had first hand experience with the mind games he liked to play, so he figured this conversation might be easier, or harder, depending how they looked on it.


End file.
